One Block at a Time
by Authorian - ButterHunter
Summary: A teen from his traumatic past is saved by someone who he never expected. As he recovers, will he be able to rope together his twisted roller coaster of a life, or is he doomed from the get-go? Rated M for some strong language and lemons in later chapters.
1. The Hand of Fate

**Hey guys, its ButterHunter here, or Cameron as my friends know me as. Welcome to the first chapter of my first ever fanfic! I only got into this idea because of my friend butterman0522, or Zach, one of my friends. You guys should really check him out if you like Pokemon or that stuff. I really hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Anyway, enough intro, enjoy Chapter One!**

Chapter 1: The Hand of Fate.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft or any mods I might put in this.**

Thump… Crunch… Thump…

The forest… a massive amount of wood and leaves as far as the eye could see. The trees were massive, at least 2 by 2. But something was off about this place, something I just couldn't put my finger on… Oh well.

'Not much else to look at here… better keep moving," is all I thought before I began walking again.

 _Twenty minutes later…_

'Ok thats enough for now, I need a break, or I might pass out.'

I stopped walking to lean against one of the many massive trees all around me. I was indeed very physically drained. My breath was short and ragged. My stomach was growling louder than a creeper explosion, and I spoke from plenty of experience. A short break was all I needed, just ten minutes.

I began to check for wounds or something off about me. Nope, same slightly muscled torso, long, bulky legs, long, strong arms, everything was normal.

Opening my pack, I began to look around it, for the mirror I kept with me for so long. I found the mirror and looked into it. A 16 year old with brown hair, brown eyes, glasses, and a tired but tan face looked back at me. Same as always, nothing new to report on. I put the mirror back in my pack, and began to look through it again.

"Found them…" I said, under my breath.

I pulled out the objects, my trusty compass and ever growing map of all my travels. I started slightly expanding the map as best as I could. Hard to believe how much I had traveled in 6 long years of what happened back then… 'No stop thinking like that. What happened back then happened, that's all. Nothing will change...'

"Siiiiiiigh"

I looked at my watch. I was shocked to see that a whole Thirty minutes had passed. 'Man, I need to stop looking back at the past all the time...' I thought.

I had a quick snack, just a few apples and some bread, nothing exciting.

Slowly, I put everything back into the pack. 'Man, you would think a guy could find a village or something by now, maybe the ruins of something, not just biome after biome…' I thought. 'Oh well, better get moving again. I gotta make more progress before nightfall, unless I want to be zombie food.'

Standing back up, I stretched a little, and then began the long walk again.

 _One hour later…_

'Finally, the edge of the forest. Thats got to be the biggest one I've seen yet, took a good two hours to cross…' my thoughts were cut short as I exited the the forest.

I looked out to the other side of the forest. What I saw chilled my blood. 'Oh no, no no no no no no no no, not now...'

Desert. Nothing but desert lay in front of me. The sunbaked dunes were totally dry and lifeless. This is bad, really really bad. "What should I do?" I said to myself. 'Ok, think Cameron, think. It's not the end of the world yet, not until I say is. What options do we have?' The way I saw it, I had two possible options, neither of them particularly great, but they were all I could think of.

Option A: Try and cross. I still had about 5 hours before I needed to be somewhere safe. Maybe the desert isn't that big.

Option B: Stay on the edge of the forest and wait till tomorrow. I might need all of the energy I can get.

"Shit, I don't like either one of those choices," I said out loud.

After a minute of careful consideration, I made up my mind. Though it might be the stupidest idea ever, I would try to cross the desert, hoping it's not too large. One time getting lost in a huge desert is enough. 'Well… here goes nothing.' So began the long and tedious trip across the desert.

 _Four hours and 30 minutes later…_

'Ok, maybe this was a bad idea'

My thoughts are getting slower. I was out of water and was losing strength fast. The desert is too large… I might not make it…

'Wait…' For just a second, I thought I saw something…

Very, very far away, it may had just been my imagination, but I thought I saw a river or a lake.

Oh, how I hoped it was. I was getting parched. Too much longer and I'll pass out. But I have been fooled before… 'I better get moving, not much longer till sundown.' I thought, as I continued my trek across the sunbaked land...

 _Twenty minutes later…_

"Its still too far… I'm not gonna make it…"

My thoughts are too slow, I'm slowing down, my hands are shaking from dehydration, but I can see it. The water was a stone's throw away. I'm so close…

I fell to my knees…

I'm trying to crawl over to the water…

It's real water, there are trees close to it…

I'm at the edge…

I dip my hand in…

…

I black out after one drink.

I came back from unconsciousness twice. Once, taking another weak drink, and then feeling myself getting turned over… It was too dark out to make out any features, or maybe just my total weakness, but kneeling next to me was definitely a woman. At least, my weak brain thought it was. She checked me over, at my legs, my arms, and my face to see if I was alive. I tried to speak, to say something, anything, but all that came out was "Help… Help me… Hel…" I passed out again.

Again, I wake, but now I'm being carried away, gently taken somewhere else, by someone. I did not know where, or who, but at the time, I didn't care, I just wanted somewhere safe… I passed out after that thought.

This is where my life, my miserable life, would never be the same ever again. Because someone was about to make my life a hell of a lot better for myself.

Someone who I would never had expected, someone amazing…

 **Well there's the first chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it. Its gonna be a great story, I can promise you guys that much. Stay tuned in for Chapter Two!**


	2. Panic and Fear

**Hey guys, welcome back to my fanfic! Hope you guys are excited for another chapter! Well, here it is!**

Chapter 2: Panic and Fear

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft or any mods I may put in this.**

The nightmare… once again I return.

I have been plagued by this every night for the past six years. Its always the same, but it still haunts me...

"No, no stop, please!" dream me cried, but the vision carried on like it always did, forever etched in my mind…

Except…

The dream was cut short today, for the first time ever. While I was confused, it did mean I wouldn't have to see them again, wouldn't have to relive the pain all over again, at least for tonight.

 _Twenty minutes later in the real world…_

I wake up from my deep rest.

"Uggghhhh my head… what happened last night?"

I felt like I was just put through Hell and back, my mind and thoughts swimming all over the place. My eyes couldn't see anything two feet in front of me, and my arms felt heavier than iron blocks.

"Ugh…" was all I could say.

Then a new voice spoke,"Don't move. You're in a bad shape."

Quite literally, if I wasn't so drained, I would have jump five feet in the air. As I was, I was still quite shocked. I mean, I had heard voices all my life, but this one was new to me. I tried to look around to see who had spoke.

"Who…" I tried to start with.

"Shhhh, don't move, you need rest." the voice spoke again.

Definitely a female voice, though with my head like this, I could have been wrong. Even though I had just woke up, I was indeed getting tired again. I didn't even try to stay awake, I just passed out again for… I don't know how long.

 _Some time later…_

Again, I wake up, but this time I felt a bit better than last time, my head could start thinking again without too much of a headache. I tried to look around me again, but I couldn't see very well.

'Where are my glasses? I need those' was my thought.

Try as I might, I couldn't look around me very well as moving caused me to get nauseous. But my glasses were nowhere close to me.

But moving around that small bit did tell me something. I was in a house, and even though my vision was bad, I did make out a small fireplace close by.

Then I heard a door open very close to me. I tried again to make out who it was. The best I could make out was that it was a woman wearing a green dress, but that was all.

"Oh, your awake? That's good I was just about to wake you myself." the woman said. Her voice was very pleasant to my ears, smooth as silk.

"Yes I'm awake. Who are you? Where am I?" I said, these questions and about a million more started to build up in my head.

"Just woke up and already wanting some answers huh?" she said, giggling. I wished I could see her face, all I could see was a green blob of her dress and nothing else. "Well I would gladly answer your questions, but now is not the time for that. For now you need more rest, just until tomorrow, ok?"

"Wait, why till tomorrow, why not now?" I asked.

"Well from where I am, you look sick and pale, so please rest a little longer, and then I'll happily answer any questions you may have." she said.

I wanted to complain, but out of nowhere, my energy dropped and I could barely think. "Maybe a short nap…" was what I think I heard myself say, before I passed out into the darkness of sleep again.

 _Midnight…_

The dream was back again, but this time, full throttle, no holding back. I remember it so clearly, wishing to skip over the worst parts of it, but no such luck. It continued in full scale, and I just wanted it to be over… I never wanted to relive the scene of death again...

 _Morning time…_

I wake, but this time gasping for air and in a cold sweat.

"Pant pant pant…" I was out of breath. The dream was always so vivid.

"Hey… are you ok?" the woman voice spoke again.

I looked to my right to see the green blob again, standing close by. Her voice was worried. I must have been having a fit in my dream again.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine, just a bad dream." I said. 'One I've had for years now.' in my thoughts.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were fighting something, or running away, shouting out, 'No please, stop!'"

Was I? Was I really shouting in my sleep? Shit, that's not cool.

"Y-yeah, just a really bad dream." I said.

"Well okay, if you say so…" Her voice had a tone of suspicion in it. 'Okay, better change the subject, before the floodgates open on me.'

"Anyway, can we talk now please? I have a lot of questions."

"Yes, but first would you like your glasses back? I just finished shining them up for you." she said.

"Oh yes, I'd like to be able to see." I said.

"Here" she said, handing my glasses to me. She wasn't joking, she had shined them up. Usually they had a smudge of dirt or something on it, but it was perfectly crystal clear.

I put them on, and my vision quickly readjusted and finally I could see clearly. 'About time,' I thought to myself.

"Ahh that's much better. Thank y…" I was just about to finish my compliment when I turned and finally got a look at the one who saved me. For the longest time, all was dead quiet. It was taking my brain a second to process what I was seeing.

Then it all processed. Faster than even I could keep up with, my face quickly went white with shock. The person who saved me, the girl was a… a…

A slime. A slime girl more accurately. She looked exactly like a human girl, but her whole face, arms, legs, body and hair were all made out of some slimey substance. She looked to be about my age, maybe a bit younger, height of about 6' 2", but what caught my eyes was her chest. She easily had D, maybe DD breasts, and for just a second, I caught myself staring, but then quickly returned to my state of absolute fear.

The slime noticed my fear and looked concerned. "Hey, are you ok?" She started to come closer, my fear rising even faster. I had to run, I had get out of here!

Faster than I've ever been in my life, I jumped out of the bed, and jumped for the first door I saw. The slime stood still out of surprise for a bit, before running after me. "Hey, wait, come back!" she yelled.

"Like hell I will!" I yelled back, opening the door and running through.

'Oh shit.' I thought, because I didn't run outside, I ran right into another room. This one seemed to be her bedroom. Next to the bed, my bag and my tool belt with all my weapons were sitting on the nightstand. I began to start running for them, but was too late. The slime grabbed me around the waist, completely stopping my escape.

"L-l-l-l-let me go!" I stuttered out. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape, she had a firm hold of me.

"No please, you have to…" she started to say, but stopped as I aimed a punch at her.

My fist collided with the top of her head, but I didn't about what would happen afterward. I was trying to hurt a pillow for all the punch did. Not mention she managed to restrain my arms somehow afterward.

"No, no NO, LET ME GO!" I shouted, still struggling.

"Wait, please, hear me out! I don't want to hurt you!" she said, her voice surprisingly calm for just being punched and shouted at.

I was going to keep struggling, but then she hit some spots in my back, and suddenly, I stopped moving, and pretty much went completely limp.

"Listen! I don't want to hurt you! If I did, I would have left you to die out there!" She said, trying to calm me. It wasn't working, I thought she was lying so that she could kill me later. But as I couldn't move, I couldn't fight back. She then dragged me back into the other room and sat me down in a chair, hitting the same areas on my back again. The instant I could move again I tried to run for it, but she just held me down.

"Please, for just one minute, listen to me! I don't want to kill you, I want to help you! Please just calm down! Please!" she said, with, I almost didn't believe it, but she seemed close to tears. Was… was she telling the truth? Slowly, I did start to calm down.

"Thank you," she sighed. She almost let me go, but then thought about it and asked,"You won't try and run again, right? Not without hearing me out?"

After thinking a short bit, I nodded. She got the message and released me. My mind started yelling at me, telling me to run for the hills, but I ignored it. I wanted to hear this girl out. She was the same mob that I've run into plenty of times crossing the swamps, and she had me weak and tired, easily able to be killed. Yet she had saved me, and given me shelter from the other monsters out there. What was her plan?

 **Well, there you go, Chapter Two all done! I was gonna stop the chapter at the part where I first saw the slime clearly, but it wasn't the time for a cliffhanger, not yet at least. (insert evil laugh here.) Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, please leave comments and ideas for me down below, and as always, stay awesome.**


	3. Who is she?

**Hey all you awesome people out there, welcome to chapter 3 of my fanfic! Well, here's chapter 3!**

Chapter 3: Who is she?

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft or any mods I put into this.**

The slime girl left into the other room for… I don't know. To get something to make her story easier to tell I guess?

It gave me time to look around her house. It seemed to be split into four parts: a living room with the fireplace, a small kitchen, a place that looked like it was for people that were sick, a sickbay, and a small area for building. Everything was clean and looked almost brand new, though a lot of stuff did seem to be quite well used. But I couldn't concentrate on all of that stuff. I had other things on my mind.

'Okay, so I'm stuck in a house with no idea where I am, and a slime also lives in this house. But she wants to explain everything to me. Why she took me here. Why she even cared. Why she hasn't killed me yet. I don't understand. Maybe I should just run for it.'

I was just about to look around for a door to get out of here, when I heard her coming back into here. She was holding my bag, with all of my important stuff in it!

Before I even said anything, she said in a somewhat stiff voice, "Now look, you want some answers and I also want answers too. So if you want your stuff back, answer my questions and I'll answer yours. Got it?"

I nodded in understanding, surprised that she wanted answers for me. I had nothing to give her, nothing that would do her any good. Nothing from me at least.

She seemed to relax, and put the bag on the counter in her small kitchen. Then she grabbed two chairs and put them next to the fire. "Sit down, make yourself comfortable." she said politely.

Still a little bit afraid to get too close to her, I nevertheless sat in the chair across from her.

"Now," she started,"what do you want to know from me?"

"Well for starters, who are you?" was my response.

"Me? Oh yeah, I haven't told you my name yet have I? Well, my name is Susie."

'Susie huh?' I thought. 'So Susie the slime. Got it.'

"Ok, well then Susie, why did you bring me here, instead of just leaving me to die out there?"

She thought for a second before speaking. "Ah that. Well, as you can see, I'm sort of a nurse out here, helping any unfortunate people that come my way. I've helped countless people, from endermen, to creepers, all of them."

"But that night, that all changed. As I saw you. Looking like you were dead by the river. Of course, my first instinct is to help, so after seeing that you were alive, I took you back here. As to why I didn't leave you out there, I know what happens to humans at night. I needed to get you somewhere safe."

"But why did you care? I'm just a simple human, there's nothing special about me." I replied.

"I think it was because you were the first human I've ever seen in person. I've seen stories of them, but I never had met one until you showed up. But what's more, I can't stand to see someone suffering. I just have to help them." she said.

I was silent. I didn't think any mobs had any feelings other than hate toward humans. But this girl was proving me wrong. I didn't know what to say.

"Anyway" she said, breaking the silence. "any more questions?"

"No, not right now anyway." I answered. "Sooo, what did you want to know about me?"

"Oh yes. Well, I'll start with who are you?" she asked.

"Me? I'm Cameron. Cameron Wallis." I replied

"Cameron… that's a nice name." she said.

"Oh, uh, thanks." It had been a very long time since I had received a compliment like that. It felt nice…

"Ok so Cameron, may I ask, what were you doing before I saw you at the river?" she asked.

Oh, that was a bad question. I didn't want anyone to know why I was out there. Why I was always running, never staying in more than one place every night.

So I lied.

"Oh that, well I was just traveling, looking for a place to live."

"Really? It looked like you were leaving somewhere for good with all of that stuff in you bag."

"Wait, you looked through my bag?!"

"Oh… was I not supposed to?" she asked quietly.

"Ugh… no, its fine, just, don't do it again please?"

There was another reason why, because that bag held my biggest secret. Something I wasn't going to share. Not yet.

"Ok I won't, I promise." she said. "Well, that's all the questions I had."

"Well, I think I should get going, I need to keep looking." I said, reaching for my bag.

"Woah, hold on, where do you think your going?" she asked, grabbing my arm.

"Umm, I'm leaving so that I can find a town to live in. I need my stuff though so…" I tried to move my arm. No use, she still held it in place.

"Do you really think I'm letting you out there, while you are still suffering?"

"Suffering? Suffering from what?"

"What else? Heat stroke and dehydration. I'm not letting you go anywhere until I know that you are perfectly healthy again."

"Seriously? I can handle just fine out there." I said, a tad bit annoyed.

"Yes, you may feel fine, but I need to keep you here, where it's safe."

"Oh come on!" I yelled, as she pulled me back to the sickbed. "This is just stupid!"

"Don't say that. You'll thank me later." She pushed me onto the bed, then went into the kitchen area.

'Ugh. This is stupid. I'm fine. I can handle myself out there.' I thought, very annoyed by now.

 _Two hours later…_

"I thought you said you could handle yourself out here?" Susie said with a smug smirk on her face.

I had been complaining a lot, so Susie had pulled me outside and told me to prove I was okay by running and jumping around a little bit. After just five minutes, I was completely drained.

I was mad, but I couldn't say anything. I was too tired, the sun was beating down on me…

"See what I mean? You need to rest for now, build your energy back up."

"Ok…. Ok… I got it…" was all I could manage. She gently helped me get back inside and gave me some water and cold towels to help cool down.

 _A short rest later…_

I was sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the fire. I could hear Susie in the background, doing who knows what. I still was a bit afraid of her even though I knew she wasn't going to hurt me.

At least, I hoped she wouldn't…

After a few minutes, she came around put something on the table in front of me. "What's that?" I asked.

"This? This is some medicine for you." she replied.

"Ummm… I don't think medicine should be bubbling like that." The cup was blue in color and it was bubbling nonstop.

"Yes, this medicine should. Just drink it." she said.

"Ummmm… I don't think I should…" I said even more nervously.

"Oh come on, you want to get better don't you?" she said, with a tad bit of annoyance.

"Yeah I want to get better, but ummm… this looks like you're wanting to poison me." I said.

"Really? You think I would want to poison you?" she said, with visible annoyance now.

"I mean, it just looks like emfgh!?" I said, the last bit muffled because she pushed me down and was forcing my mouth open.

"Now just hold still." she said holding the cup.

Too late, I started trying to struggle. But she got the stuff in my mouth, forcing me to swallow it. It tasted bad, like I was eating a rotten apple.

"Cough cough cough… What the hell?! Why…" I shouted.

"Shhh… just relax for a sec…" was all she said, in soft, gentle voice.

Suddenly, my whole body relaxed to where I went limp. I couldn't move a muscle. I also felt energy rapidly leaving me. "Wha… What did you do…" was what I managed to say.

"Shhh… It's ok… you just need rest…" she cooed to me. She gently picked me up and started carrying me into the other room. I wanted to fight, but I couldn't move a muscle. That's all I remember before falling asleep.

My last thought before falling asleep was, 'Well, I'm fucked.'

 **Well, there's the latest chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed reading! Thank you guys so much! Please keep leaving my suggestions for the story in the comments! Also, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me** **with your username and what server you want to play on. My username is IamaButterHunter (shocking!). Thanks you guys so much! See you in the next chapter!**


	4. The Confession (Part 1)

**Hello everyone! It's ButterHunter here and I'm back with a brand new chapter of my fanfic! This is, as of now, my longest chapter! (Yay!) I really hope you guys are enjoying my story. I know I'm having a great time just making it. Anyway, enough sappy stuff, enjoy the story!**

Chapter 4: The Confession (Part 1)

"Ugh, waz… what's happen…" I mumbled.

What happened? My memory is fuzzy. I remember passing out, but not how.

"Ugh, where are my glasses…" I said, coming back almost all the way.

I saw my glasses on the small table next to me. I tried to grab them, but my arms were weak. I could barely lift them. But after a minute, I could reach over and grab them. I put them back on.

"Whoa, that's much better." I commented to myself.

Now that I could see, where was I?

Looking around, saw I was in the same bedroom from earlier. I don't remember coming in here before. Why did my head feel so dizzy earlier?

Then, it hit me: Susie had drugged me. Why? That couldn't have been medicine, because nothing felt different, other than me still being dizzy. What was her goal there?

I decided to find and ask her myself. It took a minute, but I somehow managed to stand up and somewhat walk, though I was holding onto the wall a lot.

After a bit, I got back into the other room to see her reading a book, which I assumed was from the bookshelf in the living room area. Wonder why I didn't see it before. Oh well.

"Um, Susie?" I asked. She turned and saw me, leaning on the wall.

"Oh Cameron, you're awake? Huh. You must be a bit restless or something." she said.

'Really? You're just now thinking this after seeing me flail in my sleep earlier?' was what I thought and really wanted to say, but I instead said, "Yeah kinda."

"Well, here, come sit by the fire with me." she said with a warm smile.

"Yeeeeaaaah, well, I'm not sure I want to after you, oh I don't know, DRUGGED ME." I said, half-shouting the last bit.

"Please, it will help you. You're starting to look better already." she said, brushing it off like it was nothing.

'Suuuuure it did, and also, creepers no longer explode around me!' I thought sarcastically.

Nevertheless, I did sit down, after a while of trying to remember how to walk again. Susie turned and grabbed a tray, with some cups and a pot. "Something to drink Cameron?" she asked very politely.

"No way, not after what happened before with the cup." I said.

"Oh come on, it's just tea. Nothing bad." she said, pouring her own cup out and slowly sipping.

'Hmm… Alright, I'll give her a second chance, but I swear to Notch almighty, if she is lying again, I'm never taking another drink from her again.' I thought.

I take a cup and pour some tea out, and started sipping. It wasn't half bad, usually I don't like tea, I just took it to be nice. But this was good tea.

"Mmmm this is good." I said. Susie just smiled and started reading again.

 _Some time later..._

"Yaaaaawwwnnnnn. Oh Notch, what time is it?" I said, checking my watch.

9:00 pm

"Oh crap, its time for bed." I said. Susie looked confused.

"What do you mean? Its still kinda early to go to bed isn't it?"

"At 9 pm its still early for bed for you?" I asked, disbelieving. I always went straight to bed at 9 o' clock.

"Yeah, bedtime isn't till like 10 around here." she asked.

"Yeah, I'm a heavy sleeper kinda, so unless you want me up after noon, I need my sleep now."

"Well, I guess bedtime now is okay, I guess." she said starting to pack up.

"No, you can stay up, I just want sleep now. You can stay up as long as you want, you won't bother me." I said.

"Nah, I'm tired too, now that I think about it." she said, yawning to prove her point.

We both kinda stayed in silence while we were cleaning up the room a bit.

 _Ten minutes later…_

It just then came to me that I never thought about where I was going to sleep. Well, I guess I'll just sleep in the sickbed area, no harm there.

Just as I was about to though, Susie came back into the room from whatever she was doing back there. "What are you doing?" she asked me.

"Getting into bed, why?" I asked.

"Why do you want to sleep in the tiny bed here? You could sleep in the one back there." she said, pointing to the other bedroom.

Bad thoughts started creeping into my mind when she said that. "Well, isn't that your bed?" I asked.

"Well, yes, but we can share." she said. Damn, she said that really fucking casually.

"Oh, no I'm fine, you go ahead, I'll be fine back here." I said, starting to crawl into the sheets of the sickbed.

"Nonsense, come on, the bed back there is way more comfy. Come on" she said before grabbing my arm and tugging me back there.

I could feel my nervousness coming back again. "No no no no no no, I'm really fine back here. REALLY fine." I said, trying to go back, with no success.

"Nope, you need to sleep comfortably or else you'll be all crabby when you wake you tomorrow." She said, pushing me into the bed and then moved to the other side.

'Ok, so it looks like I have no choice but to sleep here, huh? Why do I get a bad feeling from this…' I thought.

In any case, I got under the covers. She wasn't kidding, this bed was a million times more comfy than that other bed in the main room. Everything was soft and warm, it felt so nice…

Then Susie got in the bed too. That's when I was reminded of my nervousness. Oh why me?

"Are you ok Cameron? You look scared." Susie asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I said, trying to calm myself.

"Ok, well, good night." she said, before closing her eyes. I followed suit, thinking, 'Well, she will fall asleep soon, so nothing bad can happen now right?'

 _Thirty minutes later…_

"Zzzzzz… Zzzz...Zzzz…"

Susie was fast asleep. She seemed to be having a good rest. I would have been too, but there was just one tiny thing that was making it hard to fall asleep.

The fact that she was a sleep hugger.

Of course, I found this out the hard way. Ten minutes after Susie closed her eyes, she started to mumble and roll in her sleep. I didn't think anything of it, until she started to hog all of the sheets. As it was kinda cold, I wanted my half of the sheets, so I tried to pull them back. Then, she released the blankets and grabbed me, holding me in a tight embrace.

I had started to squirm around to free myself, but she only kept a firm hold of me in the hug. After five minutes of failing to free myself, I gave up and just layed there, trying to fall asleep. But I couldn't, I was too uncomfortable being so close to her.

'Dear Notch, why am I such a wuss? It's not like she is making me do anything dirty. It's just a hug.' I thought. Come to think of it, it was quite nice to know that someone did care for me.

So, after I think ten minutes of getting used to the hug, I finally was able to fall asleep.

 _One night's rest later…_

"Yaaaawwwwwwnnnn… oh man, what time is it?" I said quietly to myself.

Morning sunlight filled the room, signifying the start of a new day. But something was off here, something I just couldn't shake… I actually felt rested, like I did get a peaceful night's rest. But that was impossible, the nightmare…

Then the pieces put themselves together in my mind. For the first time in six years, the nightmare had not come to pass over me. The feeling of torment and despair never replayed in my head. What did this mean? Why did it not happen?

While I was thinking that, I opened my eyes. It just then came to me that Susie was still fast asleep, still hugging me. But by now, I was used to it. I just needed to wait till she woke up.

It was shorter than I thought it would be. Not even a minute after I started to wait, Susie stirred, then woke. She seemed to be still a bit sleepy though.

"Mmmm… Mm? Oh, Cameron. Good morning" she said, slowly coming back from the dream land. After a while, she realized she was holding me tightly in a warm embrace. "Oh! Sorry, did I start hugging you in me sleep?" she said embarrassed, releasing me.

"Oh, it's fine. How did you sleep?" I asked, stretching.

"Just fine. You?" she asked back.

"Fine too." I returned, starting to get out of the bed so that I could get dressed.

"Ok, well, I should maybe get started on breakfast then huh?" she said, smiling. Right after she said that, my stomach growled loudly. She started laughing hard. "Hey, cut that out!" I said, feeling my face grow red.

"Sorry, it's just that was so loud, how could I not laugh?" she said, laughing.

"Ugh, I gotta get dressed…" I said, heading for the small bathroom she also had in her house.

And that's more or less how the entire week went.

Every day, she would wake up just after I did, then go make some breakfast, then give me some medicine. At first, I didn't trust her, but as the days went on, I started taking it without complaint. Then we just kinda stayed around the house, doing small chores and stuff, as I was still rather weak, and at night, she always dragged me back to the bed, wanting me to be comfy. Every night, she also sleep hugged me, which did take a while to get fully used too. Even so, without a doubt was probably the best week I had had in a long time.

After a week, she checked over me, and found that I was back to perfect health again. 'Good, no more medicine then.' I had thought. But something was just bothering me, something I just couldn't put my finger on.

As the days had gone along, I couldn't help but notice that I was trying to always find ways to help Susie, talk with Susie. But at the same time, I always felt weird talking to her, just, something had changed inside of me, but it couldn't be explained at first.

Then, all of the sudden, I put the pieces together. It was after Susie had confirmed my condition to be perfect. She had made me a great meal to celebrate my recovery, and made sure to give me plenty of hugs. She had always said that hugs were the best medicine. But something weird was also happening to me. It was during dinner, I felt… strange. Like I was split into two versions of myself, one wanting to give her a hug and thank her so much, and the other wanted to shy away from her.

'Wanting to give her a hug myself, but also not wanting to. What is going on in me?' I had thought. That's when I realized something.

'No, no that can't be.' I thought, my mind racing with the conclusion. It was absurd, unthinkable…

I was in love with Susie.

 _There hours later…_

After dinner and some very intense thinking, that was the only idea I could come up with, that I liked Susie. But it was to crazy to think about. The idea of a human and a slime in love? 'Blech…' I thought.

Still, there were so many things I liked about her. The way she made me feel around her, how her strong demeanor mixed well with her cute, soft side, how she was the first friendly face I had meet in years…

"What do I do?" I said to myself.

"Did you say something Cameron?" Susie asked, poking her head inside the bedroom where I was thinking.

"Oh uh, no, I didn't say anything." I said, trying to stay calm and not reveal anything.

"Hmmm… well, if you say so…" she said, her tone disbelieving.

She went back to doing whatever she was doing in there, leaving me to my very confused thoughts.

 _Ten minutes later…_

Susie had called me outside, she wanted to show me something. I followed along, still unsure of my true feelings of her. She lead me through a small forested area, and then a small clearing. I was starting to think that it might be a bad idea to take me out so far from the house. Luckily, Susie rounded a corner and showed me a secret ladder up a steep hill. At the top was nothing but a small bench, pointed right at the setting sun.

"Sooo why did you take me here?" I asked.

"I wanted to show you one of my favorite spots in the world, and this is one of them. I come here every so often, just so that I can watch the sunset. And now, I have someone to share it with." she said, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a slight blush in her cheeks. It was so cute when she did that…

'Wait, she blushes quite a bit around me. Does that mean…'

Did she save me for more reasons other than just because she found me almost dead?

"Cameron? Helloooo? Earth to Cameron?" Susie said, waving a hand in front of my face. I snapped back to my senses.

"Huh? Oh, so, you wanted to share this spot with someone?" I said, cursing myself for going into internal mode in the middle of the conversation.

"Yes. Come on, sit down." she said, sitting down on the right side. I sat on the left.

For a few minutes, we just sat there, simply looking out at the setting sun in front of us. It really was beautiful.

After a while, I looked over at Susie. She was looking out at the sun, but she seemed to be thinking about something. She was… beautiful. There were no other words to describe her. The light shined on her face, and she looked amazing.

I looked back at the sunset, and tried to collect my thoughts. I did like Susie. But did she like me? Ugh, how do I find out?

"Hey, Cameron?" Susie asked.

I looked over at her. She wasn't looking at me, but I could tell she wanted my attention. "Yeah?"

"What does the sunset mean to you? Like, do you see it as a metaphor for something else?" she asked quietly.

I took a moment to ponder her question. It was something I had never thought about before.

"I suppose," I began, "that I see the sunset as… the end of a longer journey, but it also means very soon, the start of something else. I don't know, it's kinda hard to put into words."

"Hmmm…" Susie went back into her thoughts.

Suddenly, I just realized something. She had said she didn't want me to leave at least until I was healed. Well, now I'm better. Was she thinking about what was going to happen after I left?

Before, I had wanted to leave as soon as possible. Now, the idea of leaving seemed so much harder.

Maybe… maybe I didn't have to.

"Hey Susie." I asked.

"Yeah?" she asked.

I looked over, and saw she was looking at me. Suddenly, talking to her about this was a hell of a lot harder.

"Ummm…" Oh Notch, what do I start with? There's too much I want to say, but I don't know where to start.

"Well, ummm… I was just wondering…" I said awkwardly.

"Yes?" Susie asked.

"Would it be okay… I mean… is it alright if I stay with you at your house?" I asked.

Susie didn't say anything, but she did look a bit shocked. "Oh…" she said.

I looked down in embarrassment and regret, because I had a feeling where this would be going now that I said that.

"W-well, I mean, I… I guess its ok for you to stay if you want, but, why do want to stay, rather than continue traveling?" she asked, as though she had expected me to ask that but still was surprised about it.

'Fucking called it. I guess… I guess I have little choice…' I thought.

I had to tell the truth.

Why I was always moving.

Why I didn't trust her at first.

Everything… every last thing…

I had to tell her my biggest, and worst, secret.

I had to.

 **I hope you guys like cliffhangers. Told you they were coming very soon. (Evil laugh) Anyway, I'm ending here because the backstory will take a very long time to explain, but I promise you guys, everything will be explained. Also, I have gotten several comments with ideas for my story, and some are pretty good. I might implement them if I can find a place for them to fit in the overall story.**

 **Also, before you all start asking, I do have a Zbox 360, but I can't connect to the Internet with it because I need a part for it, as its a older model I believe. So for now, I can only play Minecraft on my computer. Sorry. But anyway, if you guys want to play on Minecraft with me, send me a message on the site** **, tell me your username, and the server you want to see me on, and at what time, and I'll try to get on then. Until the next chapter guys and gals, stay awesome as ever.**


	5. The Confession (Part 2)

**What's happening everyone! It's ButterHunter again and welcome to the newest chapter in my fanfic! I really hope you all are enjoying this story. I'm having the best time writing this. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter! It's a little bit shorter than the last one but what are you gonna do eh?**

Chapter 5: The Confession (Part 2)

I sighed. Guess now I have to tell her.

I reach into my bag.

"What are you getting?" Susie asked, curious.

I didn't respond. Instead, I reach in and grab a loose string in the bag. I pull it and it opens a large patch on the side of the bag. I then grab my secret.

"This," I say, showing Susie what I grabbed, "is my biggest secret. Why I was running."

It's my one personal memento of my old life.

A family portrait. Me, my sister, my mom, and my dad, all of us smiling at the camera. I had just turned 10 when this was taken. Now, six years later, this was the only thing I had left of my family.

"What is this? Your family?" Susie asked.

"Yeah, or at least, it was…" I trailed off.

"What do you mean 'it was'?" Susie asked.

"You really want to know?" I asked, my voice dead serious.

She hesitated at my voice, but said calmly, "Yes, I do want to know."

"Ok well, you asked for it." I started, pausing to collect everything. Then, I began.

"It was six years ago…"

 _6 years, 2 weeks, and 5 days ago…_

It all started the day after my birthday.

I had just turned 10. It was awesome to be so old, at least that's what young me had said.

I was walking around the village, enjoying the pocket money my parents had given me to buy something as my last birthday present.

Then, the village alarms sounded. That only meant one thing: monsters were coming for us.

Doing exactly as I was taught by my school and parents, I ran back home. Luckily, I lived close by. Even so, by the time I got home, my parents, who were part of the villages defense team, were already in their armor, and were getting my sister, Paige, into the safety bunker. They quickly got me in there too, and they went off to fight.

For the next hour, we couldn't hear much, just a lot of bangs and yelling. I was getting very nervous.

Then, slowly, the noise died. For a minute, all was quiet.

Then, the door opened, and my parents stepped in. We had won the fight.

 _Present time…_

Susie was looking at me confused. "That doesn't explain why you ran away." she said.

"I'm getting to that. I just need to collect my thoughts for a second." I said, needing a break. I looked out at the sunset. I estimated maybe still another hour or so before we really needed to get back.

"OK, so, where was I?" I started. "Oh yeah, so my parents came back. We had just won the biggest fight anyone had seen ever in the village."

 _Flashback…_

Barely two hours after the fight, the entire village had set up a massive event to celebrate the victory. Every last person was in the party.

Everyone… except me and my family.

While everyone else thought the fight was over, my parents thought something was wrong. It seemed to have been too easy of a fight to them. They thought something else was coming.

They were right on the money.

At exactly 4:00 p.m., the party had started. It looked like it was amazing, and I was thinking about sneaking in… but then…

The mobs launched a second massive attack.

I saw it first. I saw a shadow above the house next to me. I looked up… and saw my worst nightmare.

Creepers were raining from the sky. They had jumped off of a platform that wasn't there an hour ago. Of course, the first thing I did was run faster than I ever had back inside and yelled at my family about the attack. No sooner had the words escaped my lips, the creeper dive bombers started blowing up when they hit.

Quickly, everyone got into the special bunker and we all huddled together.

If I had known it was that last time I would feel them hug me… I would have hugged tighter, or stopped what was about to happen to them…

After about ten or so minutes, the sound of explosions slowed, then stopped completely. We waited a little, and then my parents left to check the damage. They told us to stay put, stay hidden.

After a minute, they called us to come out, that we needed to go.

And then… as Paige was walking to them… as I poked my head out in fear…

…

 _Present day…_

"T-then…" I stammered. I couldn't finish. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes.

"Cameron? Are you OK?" Susie asked, very concerned. I looked at her… and started talking again.

"Y-yeah kinda." I managed.

"A-anyway… it happened so fast… t-t-the last c-creeper fell down… right in front of my p-parents… and i-i-i-it… b-b-b-b-blew up… (Susie's expression went completely shocked at this point) and when the dust cleared… I… I saw… them… b-b-broken, bloody, and d-dead… I… I remember f-falling down on my knees, s-s-shaking them to get up…" at that point, I couldn't take it anymore…

I started bawling. I couldn't help it. I had so much pain and suffering inside of me, and sharing it with someone for the first time pushed me over my limit.

 _Susie POV…_

I had been staring at Cameron for the longest time as he relived his sad story. Then he suddenly lost all control and started crying very hard. I was shock, at both the sad story and his sudden outburst. After a second, I gently pulled him toward me, and tried to comfort him. He just sat there, crying his eyes out.

"WHY?! WHY DID THEY H-H-HAVE TO K-K-KILL MY ONLY FAMILY?!" he shouted out, stuttering so badly. I just hugged him, rubbing his back, trying to calm him.

"I…" I tried to start with. I was looking for something to say to him, anything, but all I could do was try to calm him down. I could feel my eyes getting watery at the sight of him so sad…

 _Cameron POV…_

I think I could only cry for the longest time. I couldn't help myself. I needed to release all of the pain I had stuck in me for the longest time.

After Notch knows how long, I finally was able to stop crying. I didn't feel like I could talk much right then, so I just sat sit, and let Susie calm me down.

"Thanks Susie… for listening to me… I sorry I dumped such a sad story on you… I don't blame you if you want me gone now that you know who I am…" I said in a sad voice. I had just dumped every last bit of my sadness and anger on her, and I thought she wouldn't want me around because of it.

"No, Cameron, it's… it's okay…" she said. I looked up in shock at her. She hugged me again, a gentle, warm hug, making me feel better. I was surprised at her. Here I was thinking she didn't want me around anymore, and yet, she proved me utterly wrong. I didn't know what to think.

"You… you don't want me gone? You still want me around?" I asked shocked.

"Well… yeah, I mean…" she started, looking strange. She seems to be trying to put her thoughts together.

"I… I don't think I can just let you go away, not after you just told me that story… I don't want to think about what might happen to you if I let you go… you understand?" she asked.

I did. I looked at Susie with a mixture of emotions. Shock, joy, confusion, and a lot of others. After a short moment, I quickly embraced Susie in a loving hug. She sat there for a second, before hugging me back. For the longest time, we just sat there, enjoying the hug.

"Thank you so much Susie. For… everything." I said, close to tears again.

"It's no problem Cameron." she said sweetly. I never wanted the hug to end. I wanted to be in this moment forever. Me and her, hugging together forever.

Eventually, we stopped the hug, but I wanted to continue. I needed comfort.

"A-anyway," I said, trying to finish my story, my voice still stuttering a bit, "after I came to my wits, I r-ran back inside, and opened the emergency supplies safe in the bunker. Inside was all kinds of things I would need. Armor, weapons, food, supplies, and many more things. I-I also grabbed that photo, to always carry with me. I had seen my parents die, but n-never checked my sister, she had flew backwards and part of the house had collapsed on top of her. I don't think she could have survived that. After running around the destroyed town a bit, gathering more supplies, I began to run. Always running. Never stopping. Always trying to get further away from that place of death."

"But every night since then, after I fall asleep, I always return to that time. It always replays the same way again. And again. And again. Never ending. I… I want to forget the pain. The suffering I have carried for so long."

I looked back at her. She was staring at me, tears in her eyes. Seeing that, I wanted to help her feel better. So I hugged her again. She returned the hug whole-heartedly. I could faintly hear her sobbing behind me. I said softly, "It's okay. It's okay." It felt weird, I was comforting her after I had told her my sad story now.

"But now, all of that has changed. I now have someone out there who cares about me. Someone who has taken care of me when I needed it most." I said, pulling away so that I could see her face, while still hugging her. She looked at me, not saying anything.

"Thank you so much, Susie." was all I said. She smiled again. It was her best smile I had seen yet.

My heart started pounding. I realized just how firmly I was holding Susie. I could feel my temperature rising. I… couldn't take it anymore.

I was in love with Susie.

I needed to tell her.

"But, there is one more reason that I want to stay here with you." I said.

"Mm?" Susie said. She had stopped smiling at me and was looking at me with curiosity.

"I bet you can guess what it is." I said.

For a second, she just looked confused. Then, she got it. Her eyes widened. She started to have a faint blush in her cheeks. But she never broke eye contact with me. She still had a few tears in her eyes.

The next thing I know we were eye to eye, close enough to feel each other's breath. I couldn't think of anything else but how beautiful she looked in the light.

One of my hands moved to her face, to wipe a tear from her cheek. But I kept my hand there. She didn't move it away. Instead, she hugged me tighter.

My face moved closer to her's. She moved her's towards me at the same time.

We were an inch apart. And then…

We kiss. At that moment, all my fear, anger, sadness, and confusion drained away from me. All I could think about was Susie.

Her lips were soft and warm. She pulled me closer to her. She had nothing but love for me too.

I never would forget this moment. The day where all of my dreams would come true. Never again would I have to share my pain, happiness, or fears alone. Now I had someone else who would be there for me. Someone who cared about me.

Someone who loved me.

After what felt like forever, we pulled apart. I was blushing bright red. She was blushing very hard too. She blushed a darker green instead of red though.

"I… I love you Susie." I said, with all my heart.

"I love you too, Cameron." she said back, in the same loving tone.

We shared another kiss. The more we did, the more love we felt to each other. The more we wanted to protect one another. The more we wanted to be with each other.

After some time, I looked back out at the sun, to see it almost completely gone from the sky. "Oh shit, how long were we out here?" I said, surprised.

We quickly got up and headed back to the house. On the way, I had only one thought in my head.

'I can already tell, life is about to get a lot more fun.'

 **They kissed! YAY! They love each other! I hope you guys enjoyed this tragic backstory and first love chapter to my story. I'm having a blast writing it (err, typing it). But don't expect chapters so often anymore, with school starting and work happening on the weekends (BOO!). I might have the next chapter posted by Monday, if not the weekend, but that's just a rough idea. Don't worry, I will still be writing this fanfic for a** _ **long**_ **time. It's just a bit hard right now with work taking up a lot of my weekends. As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your MC username, and what server you want to play on, and what time. As always, leave you comments down below, and until the next chapter, stay awesome.**


	6. The Beginning of Something Greater

**Hey everyone, it's Butter Hunter here. I'm back with a brand new chapter! I hope you all have been enjoying the story so far. It's just so awesome to see that there are people out there that like this kind of stuff. Anyway, enough blabbing, let's jump right back in, eh? This one is a little shorter, but I will try to make longer ones later.**

Chapter 6: The Beginning of Something Greater

 _The next day after the last chapter…_

Morning sun came in through the window, signaling the start of a new day.

I slowly woke from my sleep. I still wanted more sleep, but now I realized just how hungry I was. 'Guess I have to get up now huh?' I thought.

I opened my eyes to see Susie laying down in front of me, hugging me again. As always.

'Hmmm… How can I get her up?' I thought. Susie seemed to be having a very nice dream. I wondered what it was.

Then, I remembered what had happened on the hill last night. Suddenly, I knew the best way to get her up.

I started by kissing her cheek. She softly moaned and seemed to be trying to to get to someone. I kissed her other cheek, and she started shifting around more, trying even harder to get to 'me' I guessed.

I finished by finally kissing her on the lips. She opened her eyes, saw me, and blushed a little, but still started to return the kiss. For a while, we didn't say anything, we kept kissing and hugging. Finally, I pulled away to smile at her.

"Good morning sleepyhead." I said, teasing her a little. She smiled at that.

"Good morning to you, bed head." she said, giggling. I quickly felt my hair, and it was indeed all over the place. 'Must have been having a bad dream or something.' I thought, getting embarrassed.

" _Yaaawwwwnnn._ Oh geez, what time is it?" I asked, still very tired. I looked over at her little clock on the wall.

10:30 AM.

"Aww man, guess we gotta get up." I said, starting to move the covers.

"Yeah, I guess." Even Susie sounded sad that we had to get up. 'Oh well, I would have woke us both up anyway with my stomach.' I thought.

"I'll meet you in the kitchen, gotta get dressed." I told Susie. She nodded, and began to get up too.

 _Five minutes of getting dressed later…_

I walked into the kitchen, to see Susie in there already, making some eggs and bacon. My favorite.

I grabbed a book from my bag, sat down at the little counter, and began to read. 'Ugh, I gotta start remembering what books I have read already and which ones I haven't." I thought, when I saw what the first chapter was titled.

I tried to focus on the book, but every now and then, I couldn't help but look over at Susie. She had her back to me, so I had a good view of… you can guess.

I couldn't help but look. Susie must have sensed me looking, because she glanced at me. I quickly looked back at me book, but I think she saw me. She didn't say anything, she just turned back to the food.

She started humming, doing a small dance on the spot. I noticed she was swaying her hips quite a lot. I had to stop myself for staring. 'NO! Bad Cameron! Don't look!' I scolded to myself. I forced myself to look at my book. I could hear Susie still humming, but I swore I could also hear a giggle.

 _Five more minutes of reading later…_

"Here's breakfast!" Susie said cheerfully, handing me my food.

It all looked very delicious. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and some hash browns were all on my plate, and it all looked very good.

 **(Disclaimer: Before you all start yelling at me, yes I already know hash browns and bacon don't exist in Minecraft. I put this stuff into the story to make it better, and there will be more things that are not in Minecraft later on. Just giving a heads up.)**

"Thanks Susie." I said. "I'm gonna have to return the favor someday."

I started to eat. Susie sat down next to me and started to eat too.

After five minutes, Susie had finished eating. She always says she wants to be slimmer, so she never eats much, though I thought she looked fine. MORE than fine. But she was persistent. I just decided to let it go. For now.

So it was just me eating. After a while, I felt she was staring at me. I didn't look over, but it was always in the back of my head. I just kept eating and reading. After a while, Susie giggled a little. I didn't know why, but I didn't pay any mind to it.

"Hey Cameron, whatcha reading?" she suddenly asked, before leaning over to look at the book. But the way she did it, her chest was right in my face. I felt my face go instant red in embarrassment.

"Ummm, Susie?" I said, tapping her shoulder.

"Hmmm? Something wrong Cameron?" she said, still with her breasts in my face. I didn't realize just how big they were, maybe because I had still been very dizzy when I first saw her. They were at least G cups now that I had another look. A mixture of both embarrassment and happiness stirred in my head.

"Ummmm… can you… umm go back to your seat? You're right in my face." I said.

"Why? Don't you like the view?" she said, obviously enjoying this.

"Ummmm…" I said. 'What should I say in this kind of situation?' my brain thought quickly.

"Awww… you're so cute when you're embarrassed!" she said, sitting back down and hugging me gently.

"Wha… ugh I hate getting teased…" I said, thoroughly defeated.

"Awww… Its ok…" she cooed to me, messing with my hair. I didn't mind to much about the hair, I was a bit ashamed I was so easily teased.

"Awww, still huffy huh?" Susie cooed. "Come here then."

She kissed me softly. I could feel my tension and embarrassment slowly drain away. I fully relaxed and continued the kiss, enjoying the moment.

She pulled away, and smiled happily at me. I grinned stupidly. For a while, we just stared at each other, enjoying our care-free moment together.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" I asked.

"I don't know, I think I need to go do some mining. Want to come along?" Susie asked.

"Do you even need to ask anymore?" I said, grinning.

 _Ten minutes of preparation later…_

We headed outside. I took a moment to make sure all of my stuff was in order. I then took a moment to fully look around the house. I never really looked around all that much. I saw the house was on the edge of a swamp, a plains, and a forest. Very interesting.

"So, where to?" I asked.

"Just follow me." she said sweetly. She walked off, I followed suit.

 _Five more minutes of walking later…_

"Here we are!" she said.

I looked in. It was lit with quite a lot of torches, and went down quite far.

"How far down does it go?" I asked, impressed she found this good cave.

"Ummm, I actually…" she said, awkwardly, "I haven't gone very far in…"

I looked at her. "What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well… you'll see." she said, before walking in.

'What was that about?' I thought. 'Oh well, better follow her.'

After not even two minutes of walking, the torches stopped.

"How come…" I began.

"Umm… this is why." she said, grabbing her pick.

She went over to the nearest vein of iron, raised her pickaxe, and brought it down. It hit, but instead of starting to leave a crack, it bounced right off. She tried again, and did manage to make a crack, but it was a very small one.

"See?" she said, a bit upset, "I can't break it, my arms can't strike it with enough power. The blows just bounce right back."

She looked very sad. I felt so sorry for her. I wanted to do something to help her feel better.

"Hey don't worry, I'll do the mining for you, you light my way, okay?" I said.

"Huh?" Susie looked at me.

"That's alright, isn't it?" I asked her.

"Oh, right, why didn't I think of that?" she said, perking up instantly. 'Whew.' I thought.

We continued into the cave. Almost immediately, we came to a split in the path. I looked down as far as I could into them. One seemed to go down and left, the other stayed level and went right.

"Ugh I hate having to chose…" I said.

Susie didn't wait for me to finish before heading to the left path. "Hey, wait! What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Down is where more diamonds are! Come on!" she yelled back, before disappearing down the path. I had no choice but to follow suit.

 _Twenty minutes of exploring and mining later…_

"Hmmm…" something was bothering me.

"Something up Cameron?" Susie asked, noticing me thinking.

"Yeah, something's up here. We've been in here for a very long time now, and I haven't seen a single hostile mob down here. In the dark cave. Is something wrong in this world today?" I said, nervous.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry." Susie said.

"I _have_ to worry. I'm human. They won't be very friendly toward me." I said.

"Just keep moving. I'll tell you if one is near." she said, squeezing my hand to calm me.

I looked over at her. She was confident about her statement. It felt nice to have someone to help me get through the tough stuff in life. "You're right, let's go." I said, a smile back on my face.

 _Five minutes later…_

Another split in the road ahead. But before I could even think of which one to go through, Susie pulled me back by the collar.

"OW! What the hell?!" I shouted.

"Shhh!" Susie said. She looked at me with concern in her eyes. My anger melted. I looked back at the split.

There, coming out of the right path, a zombie approached. "Nrrghh…" it moaned. I think it noticed me, because it looked over at me and started to hobble over to us.

"Groan…" it just hobbled over to us. Slowly, but deadly.

"Stand back Susie." I said under my breath to her. She looked over and saw my hand on my sword hilt. She nodded in understanding and backed off a few blocks away.

The zombie was barely three blocks away from me. I stayed perfectly still.

Suddenly, faster than the blink of an eye, I had moved behind the zombie and in one quick motion, sliced cleanly through the neck.

It fell dead at once, after the one quick, powerful strike. I sheathed my sword and looked over at Susie. She looked back, shocked.

"Remind me never to piss you off." she said very softly. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Ok, well, shall we keep going?" I asked. She shook her head no. "Why not?"

"Look at the time!" she said.

I glanced at my watch.

11:30 am

"It will take a long time to get back, we better get started now." Susie said.

"Oh yeah, probably a good idea." I said.

So we packed our stuff and went home. But I never would have expected what was to come next…

 **Don't you just LOVE cliffhangers? I sure do! (insert troll face here) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I just needed a chapter to be about showing some random stuff you guys might have questions about. I promise, the next few chapters will be very interesting. I've got a few ideas on what the next chapter could be, I just need to make a choice.**

 **Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, be sure to leave a comment, and if you want to play Minecraft with me, be sure to PM me with your username, what server, and when. Until next time guys and gals, stay awesome.**


	7. Lots of Questions and Passionate Kissing

**Hey everyone out there! Welcome to the next chapter of my story! This is where things start to get a little interesting. I really hope you all like this story thus far, and continue reading until it's finished, but that won't be for a very long time.**

 **And just as a formality, I must remind you all that this story is rated M for strong language and some lemons. For future reference, all things that some might find offensive will be clearly marked at the beginning and end. Just as a heads up. Now, back to the story.**

Chapter 7: Lots of Questions and Passionate Kissing

 _12:00 pm…_

We arrived safely at the house. I was feeling pretty good after taking a swing at that monster. It helped to clear my head a bit, but I was nowhere near clear skies.

"So, Susie." I said once we got inside, "What are we going to do now?"

"I'll tell you after lunch. I got an idea on something we should do." she said.

'What does that mean?' I thought. 'It wouldn't be anything… bad, right? Right?'

Well, whatever it was, I would find out after lunch. 'I can't wait to see this.' A odd mixture of dread and anticipation lurked in my head.

I sat back down at the counter while Susie started to make lunch. She was humming again, swinging her hips again, showing off her figure. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I was captivated at the sight in front of me.

"Hmm Hmm Hmm…" Susie hummed. She seemed to be unaware of me, at least, that's what I thought.

"Mmmm… Enjoying the show, Cameron?" she said teasingly, turning to look at me. I suddenly felt my face go bright red.

"I wasn't staring." I denied, my voice sounding unconvincing to even me.

"Oh, _suuuuure_ you weren't." she said, smiling from ear to ear seeing me embarrassed. She turned back, continuing to make our food. I was looking away in shame. 'She's doing this on purpose, I know it!' I thought.

Two minutes later, Susie placed my food, a simple sandwich with a glass of milk in front of me. I thanked her and began to eat, suddenly hungry after the teasing. She sat next to me, with her own sandwich and glass, and started to eat too.

Somehow, Susie managed to eat her sandwich and drink her glass of milk before I could even finish half of mine. "Hungry, huh?" I asked in amazement.

"No, it's just…" she started, looking embarrassed at eating so fast. It was so cute when she tried to deny something to me. She couldn't think of a clever excuse to why she had finished so fast, but I think we both knew the reason why.

"You know you don't have to starve yourself just to stay slim, right?" I asked.

"No no no no no no, that's not…" she tried to deny. I just looked at her disbelieving. She slowly trailed off as she couldn't think of a counter to my statement.

"It's ok. You can eat more if you want you know. You'll be fine." I said.

"I…" she started, before I put a finger to her mouth. "No no, just go ahead and get another one." I said, before turning back to eat my lunch. Susie sat there for a little before going back to make another sandwich. I knew she felt insecure about herself sometimes, so I saw this as a way to help push her to feel better about herself.

She came back soon. By then I had almost finished my lunch. She looked over at me, and then at her food, and slowly started to eat. 'Aww, she so cute when she is so hesitant like that.' I thought.

Later, after lunch, Susie went into the other room to group to get something. I wondered what she was getting to show me.

"Cameron! Can you come here and help me with this?" Susie shouted out to me.

I walked into her room and saw her trying to pull a long, thin tube into the other room. I quickly grabbed the other end and together we got the tube on the table she had set up earlier.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"This," she said, panting a little, "is what I wanted to talk to you about."

She twisted the top of the tube off and pulled out a large piece of paper. Unrolling it, I saw that it had her house on it, but there were a bunch of other rooms that didn't exist.

"Is this your house plans?" I asked.

"Yep. This is the first idea I had for my house, but I quickly found it too hard with just these rooms. So I quit, but it's always been in the back of my head to complete these rooms, and maybe some more."

"Well, I'd be happy to help you build your house out if you'd like my help." I said very gentlemanly-like. Susie grinned broadly. She gave me a big hug. For a moment I just enjoyed the hug, but after a while, I began to feel a bit uncomfortable, mostly because I just realized how much she pushed herself onto me, specifically her chest.

I tried to pull away, but she hugged me tighter, preventing any form of escape from her grasp. Now I was really starting to get nervous, because now I knew Susie was trying to keep me trapped in her embrace.

"Um… Susie? Can you please let me go now?" I said, hoping I didn't sound as rude as I felt I was.

"Why? I thought you loved hugs from me." she said, her grip tightening a little bit more.

"I do, but it's just…" I struggled to find words to complete my thoughts.

"Awww, am I making widdle Cameron uncomfortable?" she cooed. Now I really wanted to be released, I wasn't used to this much attention.

"No! Well, yes. Wait, no!" I started to panic a little bit, squirming a lot more, with no success. I was at the mercy of Susie.

"But maybe I don't want to let go of you, my love." Susie's tone was becoming very sweet. "Maybe I want to keep ahold of you a little more."

"That's…" I didn't get a chance to complete my sentence because she kissed me right on my mute button, my lips. She continued the kiss for a second before pulling away. She looks at me, and I can't help but feel a certain degree of lewdness in her eyes. Now I was trying as hard as I could to escape her, but to no avail.

For the next few minutes, she keeps kissing me, slowing me down as I start to feel safer, then I remember what's happening to me, then kissing me again to slow me down further. Eventually, she got me to completely stop struggling and just keep the kisses going.

Then, it gets real. She kisses me again, but this time, her mouth is slightly open. Just a little bit, but just enough to make me notice it. She says nothing, but slowly starts to open her mouth bit by bit. My nerves were creeping back into me, but I let this happen, wanting to see where this goes.

And then, when our mouths are wide open, she does it. I feel her tongue slowly move over into my mouth. My first instinct was to pull away, but before I even could start, a hand comes and pulls me deeper into the kiss. 'Oh shit, I'm in for it now. This went from 0 to fucking 100 real fast.' I thought, as her tongue moves around my mouth, exploring this new space.

I decided to play along. I start to use my tongue to flick at hers. The second I do, I start to hear Susie moaning into my mouth. We continue this until our tongues are dancing around in my mouth, exploring everywhere. Then, I decide to take over for once.

I quickly move my tongue and push gently against hers back into her mouth. The cycle repeats, only I'm doing the exploring this time. We are moaning passionately into each others mouths, showing each other just how much we love the other.

'I love her so much right now.' I thought, still keeping the kiss going strong. We are both trying to completely explore each other, both inside and a little outside too. Our hands are running up and down each other's sides, making us kiss even more.

After what feels like an entire year, we finally pull apart. We are both slightly panting for breath. But we don't care about that. We only care about looking into each other's eyes. We say nothing to each other. We let our eyes do the talking. I'm blushing more red than an apple, and she is a very dark green almost everywhere around her face.

"I… I love you Susie… so much…" I finally say.

"I love you too, Cameron…" she says back.

And then we just hug it out. At that point I didn't care about anything else, just being in this moment was more than enough to keep me happy.

 _Several hours later…_

It's finally time for bed. 'Whew, today was busy.' I thought

Me and Susie had just spent the last few hours going over how much supplies it would take to make this dream house of Susie's. It certainly looked like a very daunting task, but it did seem highly possible to do. We just had to take it one room at a time.

Then dinner came around to us, and that's what made me the most tuckered out, mostly because I had volunteered to make us dinner this time. She said she was okay with making it, but I was determined, and she let me make dinner. I didn't make anything too hard, but it still took a while and quite a bit of effort.

But now, it was time for bed, something I was looking forward to. I needed to have my batteries recharged. I changed into my sleep clothes, a simple white T-shirt and some shorts.

I slipped into bed, and Susie followed suit very soon. We shared another kiss and started trying to fall asleep. But I couldn't, even though I was tired. Maybe it was because I had a lot of questions to think about. Like, how would we be able to get the resources needed to make the house. Or, would we be able to even complete it. But maybe the biggest question I had wasn't about the house, but rather about our relationship. What I had with Susie was more important to me than anything else in the world, but how well would it work out for us? Will something happen between us? How should we continue, fast, or slow it down?

Before, this wasn't even on my mind. I thought it would always work out for us. But when Susie had me kissing her passionately, I had wondered if we were rushing into this. That we were going to go so fast, that mistakes will happen.

But I didn't have to think by myself for too long.

I think I had been tossing and turning a little as I had been thinking, because it wasn't long before I heard a voice say, "Cameron? Are you OK? Are you having a nightmare again?"

"Huh? Oh, Susie. No, I was just thinking about a lot of stuff." I replied.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Can that wait until morning? I'm really tired." I said. Susie shook her head. "Ugh, fine, I'll tell."

"I was thinking about a lot of stuff that we have on the table. We're going to make this place larger, we have to do it when it's safe, where we going to get resources…"

"Annnnnd?" Susie said, knowing I had something else.

"And… about us. Mostly us. I mean… I have a lot of questions, and not enough answers. I have so many questions, I don't know even where to start." I said.

"What do you mean, about us?" she said, wide awake now.

"Like… do you think we are rushing into this? I mean… we've known each other for what, a little over a week now? And we are now dating and…"

"Shhh…" Susie said, silencing me. She just pulled me closer to her and whispered, "Hey, I know just how you feel. I want answers to probably the same questions that you have. What will make us a good couple is if we work together to find our own answers, instead of trying alone. You know this, right?"

"I know. It's just… hard. I mean, I've been alone for so long, and now I've thrown myself into this, and I don't know if I'm totally ready. I've always been kind of a loner." I said in the same whisper.

"Then that means we just have to try harder." she said with a smile. I don't know how she did it, but she always managed to calm me down when I'm the most stressed. I embraced her, saying, "You're right. I'm being stupid. I'm gonna work hard to make this relationship work as well."

"That's my Cameron." she said, before giving me a kiss that quickly turned passionate. For at least two minutes, we just moaned into each others mouths, our tongues dancing in our mouths. Somehow, we moved so that Susie got on top of me, continuing to kiss me with fierce love. It continued like that for sometime until Susie pulled away, and this time a thin trail of saliva and slime left our mouths. 'Oh Notch damn I love this girl.' I thought to myself. She looked even better than normal in her sleepwear and slightly messed up hair. Apparently she could change her outfit at anytime she wanted, which was easy considering it was kind of a part of her. That trivial thought crossed my mind for a moment.

She tightly embraced me again, for a while, we just lightly kissed and hugged until we both fell asleep, with her on top of me. But I didn't care. I was in bliss right now. 'Nothing could ever ruin this.' was my last thought before I fell asleep.

Of course, I just had to jinx something for us.

 **Well I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter. Next chapter will be very interesting, or at least I hope it will for you guys. Thanks so much for reading my story as always. This is a lot of fun to be writing for you all to see. Maybe one day I'll be one of the big names on this site with a lot of stories that many people will love to read… eh that's just wishful thinking… maybe...**

 **Anyway, be sure to leave a comment, and if you want to play Minecraft on the PC (I don't really do any other form of MC) with me, be sure to PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. Until next time, stay awesome.**

 ** **(Did I get any of you thinking a lemon was about to happen? I bet I did! HAHAHAHA!)****


	8. Expanding the House, Tripling the Love

**What is up my followers/new readers! It's ButterHunter here again and this time, I'm gonna a longer chapter just for you guys. I'll try to have longer chapters from here on out but we just have to see how that plays out. I think you guys will like having some longer chapters to read. Anyway, please read my newest chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: Expanding the House and Tripling the Love

 _Next morning…_

I woke up feeling very energetic. 'Strange. Haven't felt this awake in ages. Is this another positive to the nightmare stopping?' I thought to myself.

Ever since I met Susie, the nightmares have completely ceased to play in my head. They were replaced with happy dreams, most of which involved Susie. 'I don't know why only now they have stopped, but I'm not complaining.'

I opened my eyes. I nearly shouted, seeing Susie on top of me, snoring gently. Then I calm down, remembering what had happened last night. 'She looks so peaceful. I wonder what she dreaming about?' I thought.

 _Susie POV…_

"Oh Cameron, I love you so much!" I cried out, not caring about anything else. I covered his mouth before he could say anything back.

"No, don't speak. Just love me." I said, somewhat crazy-like. 'What is happening? This isn't right.' I thought, hugging him tightly.

"You're mine forever. Know that." I said, my thoughts still thinking like mad trying to piece together what the hell is going on.

I start to forcefully kiss him, ignoring any form of his concern. He started to squirm, getting uncomfortable in my grasp. I wanted to let him go, but I couldn't. It was like watching someone else was controlling what I did, ignoring any other input from what I really wanted to do.

"But…" I said, stopping the kiss. "There is something that can make this better." My face was being forced into a lewd smile, and my hands slowly moved down him. I instantly knew what was going to happen. 'Nononononno!' my thoughts shouted. I didn't want to go there yet!

"You really are wearing just too much, Cameron. Time to take it off!" lewd me said, before starting to grab his shirt and pants. 'NO! DON'T DO IT!' I wanted to shout, but I couldn't. I could only stare as I pulled off his shirt, and started to undo his pants… He was scared beyond belief, trying to get away…

…

"No!"

"Susie!" someone was shaking me.

"No, stop, let him go…"

"Susie, wake up, your having a bad dream, wake up!" the voice said.

"No… huh?" I said, opening my eyes. Next to me, Cameron looked pale, his eyes wide. "Wha- what happened?" I asked.

"I had just thought, 'You look so peaceful' and then you start to toss and turn, talking in your sleep. You were having a bad dream, a really bad one by the looks of it." he said, still worried. He grabbed my hand. "Are you ok? What was it about?"

"Oh, ummmm…." I couldn't say what it was about, could I? That might be bad to tell him what I had just witnessed.

So I lied.

"Nothing, it wasn't anything, just a bad dream." I said. Cameron looked at me, not very convinced.

"Nothing? It didn't sound like anything. It sounded like something was happening to you. What?" he asked, wanting an answer.

"I told you, it was nothing important, let it go." I said, before leaving the bed to get ready for breakfast. He just sat there, confused.

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Ten minutes later…_

Susie's outburst from earlier was still fresh in my mind when I walked out of the bedroom. She had been close to screaming, saying things like, "No, leave him alone!" and, "This can't be happening!" Of course I was worried.

I wanted to question her, but at the same time, I felt like I would get nowhere. She could be very stubborn if she wanted to be.

Anyway, I went and sat down on the counter. She was stirring something in a pot, clearly still not over what happened in her dreams. I didn't question her, I just said softly, "Sorry…"

She didn't reply, but I think she calmed down a little bit, because she started to hum quietly again, and her shoulders relaxed a bit more.

 _Thirty minutes later…_

After a good breakfast, I headed out to chop some wood on Susie's request. I headed into the nearby forest and started chopping. I did have one rule for myself though: always plant one or two saplings for every tree I chop. We would always need wood, and this made me feel better about cutting a lot of trees.

After a good hour or so, I had at least two stacks of oak and a stack of birch, not to mention a lot of leftover saplings and apples. 'More for us later then.' I thought.

I headed back home, but something seemed… off about it. It all looked the same, but something just didn't feel completely right.

I hesitated at the door, unsure of it being completely safe. I thought, 'Why am I so paranoid? It's just the house, with Susie inside…'

At that second, I heard Susie speak, and then out of nowhere, another voice spoke.

'...with another person!' I thought, quickly getting nervous.

I pulled my hand back, not knowing what I should do. After a moment of hesitation, I knocked on the door. The two that were in there went silent. Then, I heard footsteps coming over, and Susie's voice, saying, "Oh hold on, I'll get it."

Not wanting to be seen by whoever else was inside, I hid off to the side a bit. Susie opened the door, and looked out. "Over here!" I whisper-shouted. She looked over, and her face told me that this was really bad.

"Oh shit…" she said, before calling back inside, "Hey! Can you do me a favor? I need you to get me the spare soap from the bathroom. It's in the bathroom, under the sink." More talking could be heard by the other voice, and then the sounds of steps heading to the bedroom.

Once the other person was out of sight, Susie rushed me inside, saying, "Oh Notch this is really bad, we have to hide you!"

"No shit! Where?" I thought, looking around quickly. I thought we had maybe thirty seconds tops to hide me.

"Ummm… oh! Hide here! Quick!" she said, before pointing under the sickbed, which was a good spot, seeing as it was big enough for me, yet I could still be hidden. I quickly slid under, just getting out of sight when the other person came back.

"Found it. You needed this?" the voice said. It was a male, and he sounded a little on the older side.

"Yeah, thank you for getting it while I dealt with that problem at the door. Just a simple matter of a creeper asking for a bandage, nothing new." Susie said, composing herself instantly, reassured by the fact that I got hidden away scott-free.

The man sat down in the chair close by, and Susie said, "Right, so what troubles you Mr.?"

"Please, no mister, that's for my father. I'm just Old Bones. Fitting huh?" the voice said.

"Yes, well, what ails you Mr. Bones?" Susie said, still being very poliet.

I took a small risk, and slowly looked out a little, still staying hidden. Indeed as I had thought, a rather old skeleton was sitting in the chair. He looked like he had been through a lot. His bones looked a little brittle, and some bones looked like they had been broken before.

"Yes, well, I need some of that stuff to fix bones, as one of the other elders has broken one of his legs again." Old Bones said.

"Mr. Bones, you should know by now that I can only give that stuff to the ones that really need it. I can't just give it to you, I need to see the elder." Susie said, as if they had talked about this before.

"But the elder can't come here, and he really needs it!" Old Bones said, getting a bit flustered. He sound very concerned for his people…

'Uh-oh' I thought. I don't think Susie hit this spot very well when she sweeped the floor a few day ago, because I felt a huge sneeze welling up. I didn't even have a chance to warn her or cover my mouth before, "AH-CHOO!"

'Oh fuck me.' I thought as Susie and OB jumped straight up into the air.

"What was that?" Old Bones asked, looking around. I quickly darted fully back under the bed. My heart was beating so much, it felt like everyone could hear it from a mile away.

"Is someone else here?" OB asked, still looking around.

"Oh, OH right! I forgot to tell you!" Susie said quickly, "I forgot that someone else is in the back right now. Poor guy has the flu. He can be very noisy, but what can you do?"

'Thank Notch.' I thought, breathing a small sigh. 'That was too close.'

"Ah yes, that makes sense." OB sat back down.

They bantered for a while, and Susie finally gave in, giving him just enough supplies to help them. "Now if I get word that these were used on someone other than the elder, you won't get anymore help from me. Understood?" Susie had warned him, before he left. Susie watched him disappear behind the trees. She heaved a big sigh of relief.

"Thank Notch, he's gone. Cameron, you can come out now." she said, much to my pleasure because I was starting to cramp up down there.

"Ugh, that was awful. Next time, we have to hide me in the bedroom, not under the bed." I said, stretching my arms and legs.

"I don't know, maybe one of the rooms we'll build will be for you to hide in." she said, dusting me off. That's when it clicked in my head, we were going to build more rooms.

"When are we starting that, actually?" I asked.

"We start tomorrow." she said.

 _The next day…_

"Ok, so how shall we start?" I said, wood in hand.

"Let's start building the second floor first, it'll be easy to start there." Susie said, looking at her prints.

"You got it!" I said, before climbing up the makeshift ladder and started to place blocks. I always wanted to be a guy who builds massive places for people to live in and be impressed to look at.

After about just an hour, I had all of the frame done, and had marked where the windows would be. That was part of Susie's job. She placed the glass windows and helped me by carrying more wood over to me. Things were going very smooth. 'If we keep up like this, we might get the second floor actually done by tonight.'

Naturally, that's when things went to shit.

It was went I was on the side, on top of the wall, building the ceiling. Stupidly, I had chosen to start the roof as far away from the ladder as possible. I was very high up, at least 12 blocks above the ground. I knew a fall wouldn't be fatal, but definitely would cause a lot of harm to me, possibly for the rest of my life. There was no way I was going to break my legs and become a cripple for the rest of my life. No way.

It was about two minutes after I started the roof. I realized I would really need more wood soon.

"Hey Susie, can you bring more wood up here? And be very careful. The wind is picking up." I called to her. Indeed, a wind gust was blowing from the plains in front of the house.

She climbed up and carefully gave me the wood. But on her way back, bad luck hit us.

The wind picked up quickly all of the sudden, and Susie was starting to wobble. I didn't notice at first, I was too busy building, but then she screamed, "Cameron!" I saw her about to fall. I ran over, and managed to grab her hands right as she lost all balance and fell.

"I got you!" I said, trying to keep a firm grip on her hands as she dangled over the edge. I knew slimes were a bit weaker than humans, so fall from here would almost certainly be fatal for her. I tried as hard as possible to keep her up. But even so, my hands were sweat soaked, and I was weak, the wood blocks being rather heavy. I couldn't muster the strength to pull her up.

"Susie! Can you grab the ledge!?" I said, trying to pull her enough to let her reach the edge. But before she could give an answer, or I could get her there, suddenly her hands were slipping.

"NO!" I said, but I was unable to do anything as she fully left my grip.

Time slowed down. She fell, with a look on her face that she knew what was about to happen and didn't blame me in the slightest. I couldn't look. I turned away right at the moment she hit with a loud _spluch!_ noise.

I turned back to see her as nothing more than three puddles of slime on the ground.

"N-no… not a-again…" I said weakly, before running to the ladder and to the puddles.

"N-n-n-no…" I said, my mind refusing to believe it. 'It's a bad dream, a very bad dream. I'll wake up in a second, and Susie will be right there.' I thought, blinking like a madman. But nothing happened. I pinched myself. It hurt. 'N-no, this can't be right…'

But it was real. My best friend, my lover, was now nothing more than a few piles of slime in the ground. I fell to my knees.

I think I started to cry then. I'm not sure, it all passed by very fast. I remember yelling a lot, my face suddenly wet with tears. But now, I had no shoulder to lean on. I was on my own. For real this time.

After Notch knows how long, I was curled up on the ground, sobbing. I remember calling for Death himself, asking him to take me instead. I wanted anything other than this fate.

Something touched my shoulder. I thought at first it was a leaf. But it started shaking my shoulder. I tried to ignore it. I didn't care who it was.

That thought changed when the figure hugged me from behind, and then, something soft touched my cheek. I stiffened. Only one person would do this.

Then, two more arms wrapped around me, and another two, with two more soft touches to my cheeks. I was instantly confused, but still, if it was who I thought it was…

I slowly started to turn around. The arms stopped hugging me, and when I fully turned, my eyes had trouble understanding what was in front of me.

It was Susie. But something was wrong.

She still had the same cute face, but she looked like she had shrunk down. She looked like someone in their early teen's with a teenagers face. Everything about her looked younger, other than her face. Also, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, there was no one, but three smaller slimes in front of me, smiling playfully.

For a solid minute, I could only stare in absolute disbelief and shock. She was back, I think. My head was starting to swim.

Then one of them said, "Are you just gonna sit there, Cameron? Or are you gonna…" she stopped when out of nowhere I wrapped all three of them in a huge hug. I couldn't believe it. She was back.

"You're back!" I shouted in utter happiness, tears streaming down my face again.

"Of course I'm back." all three spoke at once.

"Ummm… which one is Susie?" I said, getting a bit confused, putting them down.

"You should know…" one said.

"That when a slime gets 'killed'…" another said.

"They split into three parts. Right?" the last one said.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think…" I started.

"That I wouldn't come back?" the first said.

"That I would be different?" the second said.

"That I would forget about you?" the third said.

"All of the above. How did this happen?" I asked.

The Susie's explained it to me. Apparently, when a normal slime splits, they turn into three different ones. Unless you were like her, in which she kept her same personality, memories, and stayed like that with all three copies. It had a rare chance to happen with slimes. Fortunately, these slimes can also return into one, after some time.

"Well, that's a relief." I sighed, finally calming down.

All three Susie's looked at each other, sizing themselves up. They were about 5 feet 8 inches, a decrease from her regular 6 foot 2 inches. Also, I couldn't help but notice her chest shrank down to D's. My perverted mind made me notice this.

"Hmmm, I look nice like this." one said.

"Yeah but I like my normal self more." another said.

"Yeah, you two are right." the third said.

"Wait, how long does it take for you to join back together?" I asked. They hadn't said how long it would take.

"Oh not long. About 3 days." one of them said casually.

"Three days!? Really?!" I shouted, the idea sounding stupid. All three nodded to this. "Siiigghh… oh well, I guess it could have been worse…"

"What? You don't like having three of me around you?" one said, before they all walked over to me, with a seductive look on all of their faces.

"Oh no, not that it's just…" one of them quieted me by kissing me, and the other two hugged me. I could feel my face getting red, and I began to squirm a little. Even though I knew all three of these girls were still the same Susie, having them come at me all at once like this was something I wasn't prepared for.

The Susie that was kissing me pushed me into a sitting position, and before I knew it, the other two were carrying me and the first Susie back inside.

 **(For the few of you that are lost, don't worry, I'm gonna give each one a tag, as to not cause as much confusion.)**

 _10 minutes later…_

After 10 minutes, in which each Susie got her turn in kissing me while the other two hugged me from the sides, we stopped and rested in the chairs by the fire. As we only had two armchairs, two Susie's sat down in her normal chair, while the last one sat on my lap with me.

"Ok, I think until we get this all sorted out, we need to give each of you another temporary name so that I don't get anymore confused." I said.

"He's kinda right." one said.

"Yeah." another said.

"Like what?" the last one asked.

"Easy." I said, before telling them my idea to tell them apart. They all quickly followed my plan. One of them, who I would call Little Susie, stayed the same. The second made a little bow and put it on her head, and we decided this one would be called Gelli **(VERY ORIGINAL NAMES!)** The last one chose to put a little flower on her head, but we couldn't think of a good name, so we decided to caller her Bloom because of the flower. Not very creative, but at least it wasn't permanent.

"So now that that's out of the way, what do you three want to do?" I asked.

They all looked at each other. A mischievous smile appeared on them, and suddenly, I wished I had made a suggestion.

Then Gelli, who was on the other seat, jumped down and grabbed my legs and clamped them together. Bloom, also on the other seat, went around and quickly grabbed my arms, pinning them to the back of the seat. Little Susie sat up and turned around to face me, still sitting on my lap. All of this happened in about 3 seconds, so I had no time to react.

"Wha-" Again, Little Susie, quieted me by kissing me, but this time, they got a bit dirtier. While being kissed, Gelli kept my legs pinned with her arms, and started to fiddle with my pants. My eyes opened wide at this. I wasn't ready for all of this.

I tried to break free, but imagine trying to pull your arms out of dried concrete. All three of them had me hopelessly pinned.

'I'm fucked.' I thought. 'Quite literally this time.'

 **HAHAHAHAHAHA! Cock blocking again! Oh I got all of you good I just know it! HAHAHAHAH!**

 **Oh I can hear the rage comments now. Haahhhhh… it was worth it.**

 **Anyway guys, other than the cliffhanger, I hope you all enjoyed this newest and longest chapter (for now!) to my story. I'm having the best time in the world to be able to write this for you people. I look forward to what will happen in the future. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted, but if I get enough time to type, I MIIIGHT have the next chapter out by the weekend. But I don't know if that will or not due to my job. We'll just have to see.**

 **Anyway, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, just PM me with your MC username, the server you want to join, and when. Until next time, stay awesome.**

 **And when there is nothing else left to say…**

 **TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!**


	9. Six Hands are Better than Two

**What's up my followers/new readers! It's ButterHunter here again with another new chapter of my story. Before we start, I would like to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. I have been very busy lately, but I will get some time to type now. I really hope you guys have been enjoying my story so far. It has been my pleasure to type this story for you all. I get lots of awesome comments and idea from you guys, and that is just so awesome.**

 **Anyway, let's get on with the story eh? And this time I PROMISE, I swear, I will not cock-block this time. Maybe. I'm about 90% sure I won't.**

Chapter 9: Six Hands are Better than Two

All three girls had me hopelessly pinned in my chair. Bloom, the one with the flower, had my arms pinned together. She had been behind my chair before, but somehow managed to sit next to me while making sure my arms were still pinned. Little Susie was still on top me, kissing me gently, with a seductive look on her face. Lastly, Gelli, who had taken charge of keeping my legs pinned, wrapped her legs around mine and continued to mess around with my pants.

My panic level was rising very rapidly. I tried with all my might to break free, but I couldn't do anything. Apparently, I still couldn't get it through my thick head the fact that these girls can and will keep me pinned down if they want to.

Gelli slowly pull my pants down, and stopped when they were around my ankles. She then looked back up, and saw my boxers, which were not doing much against my hardening shaft. I couldn't help but look in embarrassment.

"Don't you like this Cameron? Isn't this fun?" Bloom asked, clearly knowing what my answer was. I did like this, but I was starting to panic at what was happening. But of course, Little Susie was still kissing me, so I couldn't do much other than make muffled complaint sounds.

For a moment, nothing else happened. The three stayed in the same places they were.

Then Gelli sat down on my lap next to Little Susie. For a split second, I thought that she must have freed my legs, so I tried to get up. But I failed, mostly due to them still sitting on top of me.

Then Little Susie finally stopped kissing me. That's when shit started to get real.

Little Susie and Gelli both smiled at me, their faces inches from mine.

"Mmmm… I think he wants us to 'entertain him,' don't you?" Little Susie asked. She covered my mouth before I could say anything.

"I think he does. What about you Bloom?" Gelli asked.

"Maaayyyyybbbbee…." she asked. All three were talking very seductively. I was sweating hard. I was wondering what they would do, but at the same time, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

Then….

'Oh dear almighty Notch.' was all I could think.

They were…

Little Susie and Gelli were really laying it thick now, because they started to…

Started to…

They started to kiss each other.

They literally started to kiss each other.

If I wasn't turned on before, I was now.

Against my will, I could feel myself getting harder and harder. How else could I react to this? I wanted to look away, but before I even could attempt to, Bloom somehow managed to keep my arms pinned, keep my head in place, AND she held my eyes open so I had no choice but to look.

As time went on, the kiss Little Susie and Gelli kept getting more and more lewd. I swore they were using their tongues.

"Mmmm, I know you like this." Bloom said behind me, her voice full to the brim with lust.

I didn't say anything. Hard to when your mouth is being covered.

'Oh Notch, how do I get out of this?' I thought. "MMMM!" I complained, getting myself nowhere.

My complaint did get a reaction out of the girls though. Little Susie and Gelli stopped kissing and looked over at me.

"What is it Cameron? Do you want something?" Gelli asked.

"Yeah, see something you like here?" Little Susie said, smirking at me.

My eyes began darting around, trying to find something to help me out of this. The girls must have seen this, because they started to giggle.

"Awww, is widdle Cameron wanting to get away?" Bloom cooed behind me. She suddenly covered my eyes. "MMMMMMM!" I shouted as hard I could. I could hear shuffling and feel the girls moving around.

Then Bloom uncovered my eyes. The girls had changed their positions, with all three on my lap. It took me a second, but I put two and two together and realized with an internal slap to my face that my arms were now free.

Or so I had thought, as when I tried to move my arms, the girls quickly grabbed them. 'Oh shit.' I thought.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Bloom asked the other two. They nodded. I started to break into a sweat again.

All three leaned forward to my face. But I also noticed their hands move down toward my boxers.

Before I could even react, all three started to kiss me at the same time. I could also feel their hands still creeping downward. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I was too wrapped up in happiness.

They didn't remove my boxers. Instead, they gently grabbed my 'happy friend' and started to rub up and down. I could only moan deeply in pleasure of this 'attack.'

They knew exactly what to do. The hands seemed to rub everywhere, making me more and more excited.

I'm not entirely sure what happened next, I think my mind sorta went blank after that. The girls told me later that they kept on teasing me for a good 20 minutes after I stopped remembering anything.

Part of me was like, 'Oh thank Notch it's over.' The other part was like, 'I can't believe I missed that. Do it again.' I didn't know which side to listen to.

 **(If I know my fan base, I know EXACTLY which side you all would be on. Shots fired.)**

 _Skipping ahead to 6:00 pm…_

I had taken over role of cooking dinner again, mostly because they asked me to. I didn't complain. I always enjoyed cooking for others.

Tonight they asked me to make something fast, yet still filling, or else I would be 'punished'. I didn't like the way they had said 'punished'. 'Seems she's a bit more bolder, and more rebellious when she's split into three.' I thought. I wasn't sure if Susie would do all of this normally. Oh well.

I wasn't sure what to make at first. My head was still trying to process what had happened earlier. I shook my head a little to clear it, and that's when my eyes saw a certain food in the cookbook I had kept with me.

"Hmmm…" I said. Gelli, who was coming back from the living room, heard me. She walked over.

"Hey Cameron." she said happily. I didn't respond, I was too absorbed with the idea in my head. "Um, Cameron?" she said again, with still no response. She walked over and gently flicked my forehead for the third try. "Yoo-hoo? Cameron in here?"

"Oh, Gelli, sorry." I said, finally looking up at her. "What's up?"

"Sorry, I just wanted your attention." she said. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just thinking about our dinner plans. What do you think of this?" I asked, showing her the book.

I had been thinking to make some grilled cheese, something I had always liked to eat. Even today, the smell of grilled cheese still made my stomach growl. I thought it would be perfect for dinner.

"What this?" Gelli asked. I stared at her for a second before saying "Grilled cheese. What, never had it before?"

The confused look on her face told me all I needed to know. "Wait, you really haven't had it before?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, is it good?" she asked.

"Is it- Yeah it delicious! How have you never had it before? What about the other two?" I said, disbelief in my voice.

"You do still remember the others are still the same as me right? We are all Susie." she said. 'Oh yeah, forgot about that…' I thought, slapping my forehead at forgetting.

"Well, I know what's for dinner then. Give me a few minutes." I said, getting straight to work. Gelli left me to cooking.

 _10 minutes of cooking later…_

"All right, I'm almost done…" I said to myself.

I had made sixteen sandwiches, four for each of us. I thought that might be enough, but I had left everything out in case we wanted more.

"All right, just have to call them ove-" I stopped, because when I turned around, the three of them were sitting down looking right at the food. 'I guess the good smell had drawn them over.' I thought.

"Well, no need to call you over now, so here you go!" I said, putting a plate with their food in front of each of them.

At first, the girls didn't eat, only smelled it. But then they looked over at me digging in.

"Well? Eat. It's good, I promise." I said. They looked at each other before taking a small bite each.

Next I knew, their eyes went wide and started to quickly munch down on them. "Told ya." I said, smiling.

In no time at all, our plates were empty. We all just sat back in our chairs, letting dinner settle for a little while.

 _9:00 pm…_

"YYYYaaaawwwnnnn…. Oh wow, I'm beat…" I said in a sleepy voice. The others looked just as tired.

"I think Dreamland is calling for me…" Little Susie said, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"Me too…" Gelli said, trying to not rest her head on the armrest.

Bloom was already way ahead of us, she was asleep on my lap, gently snoring away.

Quietly, we all got up and got into bed. Thankfully, Susie must have made the bed with the thought that she might be split at some point, because the bed was big enough to comfortably hold all of us. After no time at all, the three of them were sleeping peacefully. I just lay awake for a little, listening to them gently giggle in their sleep. I had one last thought before I fell asleep myself.

'Well, I think life will get interesting for a while. I wonder what might happen…'

 **Well, there's the newest chapter to my fanfic! Again, I am SO SORRY that it took so long to make. I have had lots of busy days. Hopefully I will not be as busy anymore. But anyway, thanks so much for reading my story! I hope you will leave some feedback about how the story is going so far. It really helps me out.**

 **And one last thing: if anyone wants to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. Until next time, stay awesome.**


	10. Back to Normal and Promises

**What is going on my readers! It's ButterHunter here again for the next chapter! We finally made it. 10 whole chapters! The first major milestone have been reached! Next up: 25 chapters! I hope you all still really like this story and continue to read it for a long time. Anyway, let's get into the next chapter!**

Chapter 10: Back to Normal and Promises.

 _Time skip to 12:00 next day…_

It took a while to fully get used to Susie being split up. I nearly had a heart attack in the morning when I woke up to see the three of them sleeping soundly next to me. Then, breakfast was strange because all three of them want to make me breakfast, so a good 10 minutes was spent with the three of them arguing. But eventually they made it all together and put everything behind them.

Then, after a little while, much to my disbelief, they said they were ready to go back out and keep building up the house. I tried to talk them out of it, saying I didn't want to risk one or all of them falling again, but they were persistent. I gave in, but only after saying we would start after lunch.

The whole time until we started to work, I kept feeling very nervous. I didn't want another incident like last time to happen. Even though it wasn't windy outside, that didn't mean they couldn't fall. But there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I just waited until we started to work.

I tried to stay positive. I thought, 'There's three of them. That means we will get a lot more done faster. Hell, we might even finish today if we work hard enough.' But the negatives stayed in my mind, no matter how hard I wished to stop worrying about them.

It started out OK. Me and the others climbed the ladder on the side, and started to build. They laid out the rooms and walls, marking off the windows, and I placed blocks where they were supposed to go.

Then, a good two hours later, I looked up and saw a massive storm heading our way.

"Oh shit." I said. I quickly got back to the ladder. "Girls! Giant storm coming! We have to get back inside!" I shouted.

They looked up from what they were doing, confused. Then they saw what I was talking about. They ran to the ladder with no questions.

Back inside, I was trying to board the door shut. I knew just how bad a thunderstorm can really be. Mobs spawn no matter what time it is, and lightning has its own dangers itself.

 _Ten minutes later…_

The wind howled loudly against the windows. Rain poured down in buckets on the house, and thunder and lightning boomed every now and then. Thankfully, I had boarded up the door and windows pretty fast, with the help of the girls. But I was still very worried.

"This storm doesn't sound like it's just gonna blow over very quickly." I said, peering out of a crack in one of the boarded up windows.

"Well, there's not much we can really do about it." Little Susie said, who was doing the same thing I was. She glanced over at me, and must have seen how worried I really was. "Hey, it'll be alright. One storm isn't the end of the world."

"I know, I know. I just… worry." I said, thinking. I had seen my fair share of storms, but this was by far the biggest one I had seen yet.

"Sigh…" she sighed, knowing I was still going to have a hard time letting go. "Come on, let's go find something better for you to do." I followed, but not after one last glance outside.

I wandered around the house a little, trying to find something to do. No book seemed very interesting, it was too early to make dinner, and everything else I could think of involved going outside, something that was not going to happen. Finally after a good ten minutes of searching, I gave up, telling the girls I was going to take a nap.

Laying down, I fell asleep rather fast, even though thunder still was very loud outside. I thought it was odd, but I let it go, just trying to get through the storm.

 _One rest later…_

When I woke up, I didn't hear the storm anymore. 'Good, it passed. Maybe we can get something done around here now.'

Getting out of bed, I couldn't help but feel that something was… off. The light seemed a bit weird in the room. 'Oh well, maybe I'm still a bit tired. Just walk it off.' I thought.

Stepping into the main room, I saw the girls all around the counter, talking. Gelli spotted me first and ran over to me fastest, instantly wrapping her arms around me.

"Whoa, someone missed me." I said, chuckling a little under my breath.

"Well, what do you expect? Come on, food's ready." Gelli said, releasing me.

"Did I hold you guys up from eating? Sorry, I didn't-" I started, before seeing what they had made. 'Ummm… what?' I thought, because instead of dinner, I saw breakfast on the counter.

"Ummm…" I started to say, but they started talking first.

"Something up Cameron? Why do you look confused?" Bloom asked me.

"Uh, isn't it supposed to be time for dinner? Why is there breakfast on the table?" I asked. The girls looked at each other. The looks on their faces told me that they weren't sure if they wanted to tell me something.

"Well, it _would_ be…" Little Susie started.

"If you, well… weren't asleep for as long as you were." Gelli finished.

I blinked in confusion. "How long was I in bed?" I asked slowly.

"Ummmm… almost 18 hours…" Bloom said, her voice very soft. At that point, I nearly went limp.

"Eighteen HOURS?!" I half-shouted. "Why didn't you three wake me up!?"

"We tried!" Little Susie said.

"The storm passed an hour or so after you went to the bedroom." Bloom supported.

"But when we went back there, you were out cold. We even tried to tickle you awake, but nothing." Gelli finished.

I stood there for a while, completely shocked. 'Eighteen hours… How!?'

"My guess is that it was so dark out, your brain kept you asleep even after the storm passed. You just kept sleeping until your internal clock told your brain to wake you up at the normal time." Little Susie guessed.

"Ugh… I'm sorry you three. I had no idea that would happen. I must have cause at least a little bit of worry. I'm sorry." I said, sitting down. They proceeded to reassure me that they didn't mind, that I couldn't have known, all the normal stuff. It still made me sad inside, knowing I caused them worry. 'Oh well, not really much I can do now huh?'

"Anyway, what do we want to do now?" I asked.

"First, you need to eat something. You missed a whole meal, you have to be starving." Gelli said. Not even two seconds later, my stomach made a noise loud enough for the heavens to hear. All three of them busted out laughing at me. I only could blush red before turning to eat my food.

After breakfast, they asked me if we could go back to working on the house. I agreed this time, seeing as we only had a little bit more of the roof to do. The rest would be inside, placing the stairs to go up and down the floors, and decorating the rooms.

An hour later, we were back on the roof again, them handing me supplies while also working on the windows.

But something weird happened right around when I was almost done. Little Susie said she forgot something, and ran back inside, but not before whispering something to the other two.

Then, not even two minutes later, Bloom said that she was going to check on Little Susie. She made it sound like she was in trouble if she didn't. It didn't seem right to me, but I tried let it go.

Another two minutes later, and the two still hadn't come back. I asked Gelli if she could check on them. She said it wouldn't take long.

After a bit, all that was left to do was to place the final piece of the roof. But I wanted the girls here to celebrate with me. They still hadn't come back. 'Where are they?' I thought, standing up to go inside.

Walking inside, the girls were nowhere to be seen in the main room. 'Are they in the bedroom?' I thought to myself.

I tried to open the door, but found it locked from the inside. "Welp, now I know where they are.' I knocked on the door.

No response.

I knocked a little louder then, thinking they didn't hear the first time.

No response.

I knocked even louder this time, yelling, "Hey! You girls in there? Come on out here."

Still no response.

By now, I was getting a bit miffed as to why they didn't answer me. I had to get inside the room. Unfortunately, I didn't know how. They never told me where the key to unlock the door was.

Then, I thought up the obvious solution. I pulled out my axe, and began to chop down the door. After a few seconds, the door fell to the ground. I stepped inside, mentally slapping myself for not thinking that earlier.

But much to my surprise, they weren't in the bedroom or the bathroom either. At this point, I became extremely confused. 'Where are they?' I thought. How could they not be right behind the only locked door here?'

After placing the door back where it went, I started to go back outside, to see if they were around back or something. But before I could open the front door, I heard a fake cough directly behind me.

"Wha-MMPH!" I said, as when I turned, the person behind me kissed me, making me quiet. A few panicked seconds later showed me that it was one of the girls, but something was off. 'Did… did one of them grow suddenly?' I thought, as the one kissing me was nearly my height, whereas the girls were about a head shorter than me.

She stopped kissing me after a few more seconds. Smiling, she stepped back a little for me to see that it was in fact none other than a reformed Susie. Questions started to build up in my head, so many that I didn't know where to start.

"I-What-When…" I tried to speak, but something was wrong with my ability to make full sentences. Susie simply hugged me, shushing me.

Finally, I got my questions pulled together somewhat. "Your… back to normal? It hasn't been three days yet, has it?" I asked first.

"Yes it has, remember? Day One: I teased you a lot. You liked it." Susie said, the latter bit with a mischievous smile. I felt a little blush come into my checks. "Day Two: Storm day. You sleep through more or less all of it. Day Three: Today." she finished.

I quickly ran it through my head again. 'Oh right, it has hasn't it?' I thought.

"So," she started, ruffling my hair with her hand, "how was it to have three of my around you all at once?"

"Oh ummm…" I said, awkwardly. I couldn't deny I had liked having three of her around. But I wasn't sure if that was a good answer. She seemed to be looking for one specific answer.

"Well… it was definitely not something I was completely ready for, that's for sure." I said, hoping that was alright. She seemed to smile a bit bigger after that.

"Oh really? Did you like it? Or is one of me better?" she said. 'Oh shit.' I thought, because that wasn't the response I was thinking of. 'How do I answer that?!'

I decided to try and play both sides.

"Well, I think it doesn't really matter how many of you there is. One, three, even a hundred of you. It's just you being around me, that's what matters."

I think I caught her off guard, because her smile faltered for a second, then it all processed and she smiled even bigger. 'Okay, I think I answered good this time.'

"Really. So that's how you think…" she trailed off, thinking about what I had said I think.

"Back to the main point. How did you hide yourself? I thought for sure you were behind that locked door." I asked.

"Call it misdirection." she replied. "I was able to hide somewhere you'd never look, but I took a precaution and locked the door, hoping that would keep you busy. And it seemed to work like a charm."

"Let me guess: you had to slide your hand under the door to lock it?" I guessed. The smile on her face told me 'yes'. "Ugh… why must I be messed with..." I said.

"So, did you finish the house while I was busy?" Susie asked me. I told her no, I was waiting for her to come back so we could celebrate together.

"Well then, let's finish it now! We don't have all day." she said, pulling me outside.

"Hey! Stop pulling!" I said, to no effect. She didn't let go until I got on the ladder, and then she grabbed it again once we on top.

We got to the small hole where the last block would go. I hoisted up the block, and moved to the right spot. I then decided to have a little fun out of all the hard work we were doing the whole time.

"Here we stand today on this house." I said, looking at Susie to see if she would say anything. She looked confused at first, but then got my act and listened along. "We have worked very hard on making this floor. But this is not the end. Rather, this is just one step closer to a brand new house, the biggest house that this land will have ever seen. May almighty Notch bring to us good fortune and future prosperity." I glanced at her again and said, "Anything else to add Susie?"

She shook her head. "You already said it all I think, 'Captain'." she said, the happy smile still strong on her face. "Well then, let's finish this." I said.

I always had problems with the last block of a structure, be it that it doesn't seem like it lines up properly, or that it would not fit, but this time, nothing went wrong at all. The block slid in perfectly. I quickly ran back down the ladder and stepped back to look at our work. The second floor looked like it seamlessly fit with the first one. But I knew that we were just getting started. It would be a long time before this place looked like we had done all that we wanted.

Even so, as I stood there with Susie at my side, I knew that this was a great first step into the making of our lives. I smiled at her. She smiled back. Before long, we shared a gentle kiss with each other. I'll be honest, having three of her was great and all, but now that she was back to normal, I think we could go back to our somewhat normal life together.

After a minute or so, we head back inside.

 _Time skip to 6:00 pm…_

Me and Susie cooked up a great dinner this time around, as a reward for finishing the long project. Chicken, steak, vegetables, all the good stuff.

After dinner and cleanup, we both moved to the living room. We just sat there reading for a little while, before Susie coughed for my attention. I looked over.

"Hey Cameron." she said, with… 'Is that… a little bit of blush on her face?' I thought, because it definitely looked like her face was a bit darker shade of green.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Did you… were you really okay with three of me around?" she asked.

"Yeah, I mean, it took some getting used to, but I got around to the idea." I replied.

She seemed to visibly relax at my words. "Okay, I just…" she trailed off.

"Wanted to make sure?"

"...Yes."

"It's ok. Why are you so nervous?" I asked.

"Just… I don't know, I keep working myself up over nothing. I just need to be sure." she said, looking away. I got the vibe that she didn't want to talk much more right now, so I went back to my book. But not even five minutes later, she spoke again, sounding very close by.

"Hey." she said. I looked up to see her almost right on top of me. She was leaning over me, hands on the chair holding herself up. I instantly became very self aware of how close her chest was to my face. I tried to scoot back but I forgot where I was, so I basically pinned myself to the back of the chair

"Y-yeah Susie?" I said, stuttering against my will. She smiled teasingly at my instant nervousness.

"You made a very fine speech today, 'Captain'." she said, almost in a whisper.

"Oh, yeah, well, thanks." I said, squirming a little while fighting with myself not to look down. I knew for a fact that if I looked down, it would be impossible to look back up.

"And in return," she continued, her voice sounding different to me, "I think you deserve a reward. A nice, sweet... fitting, reward."

I think I began to sweat when she said that. "A-a-a-and… what would this… r-reward be, exactly?"

"Hmmm…" Susie said, her face now inches from mine. "Well, I'll tell you, but at a price. Promise me that you will not back down from the reward, and I'll tell you. But if you don't, I tell you later. Right as I give it to you. Tonight."

"Ummm…" my mind was racing furiously. 'What do I say?'

On one hand, I was rather curious about what this reward was. But then, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. But eventually, I gave in. I nodded, thought I wasn't too sure if I wanted to hear.

"Are you sure?" she said, leaning even closer. I nodded, still getting more nervous.

"Are you REALLY sure? You can't back out from it if I tell you." she asked one more time, her voice undeniably full of lust. Another minute of very careful thinking in my head, and I nodded again, but now with a lot of reluctance.

"Okay." she said in a sing-song voice, still in the same whisper. "My reward for you is this."

She leaned in even closer to my ear and started to speak. At first, it seemed nice, nothing to bad.

Then she pulled out the big guns.

"You want to do WHAT?!" I nearly shouted, in total shock.

 **I enjoy cliffhangers. At least, only when I'm giving them. Now I know why my favorite author does them all the time. Don't you all like them too?**

 **Oh wait… do you hear that? I hear something… it's faint yes, but… it sounds like…**

 **TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! SUDDEN ENDING! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Hah… let the rage begin… again… worth it...**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed my newest chapter to my story. I must apologize again for taking so damn long in posting new chapters. I have been very, very, very UNBELIEVABLY busy. Thankfully, the weekend I post this will be the last weekend I work until next summer, so there's that to look forward to. Again, I'm sorry, I should have more time to type very soon.**

 **Also, just in case you were wondering, yes, a really good chapter that many, and I mean MANY of you are looking forward to is in the making. So prepare yourselves.**

 **As always, if any of you wants to play Minecraft with me, just PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. Until the next chapter guys, stay awesome.**


	11. Proving the Love

****What is up my fellow readers/followers! It's ButterHunter here again back with what is now the longest chapter in my story. I hope you all are enjoying my story thus far. And no worries, I have plenty, and I mean PLENTY, of ideas for how the overall story will play out. So there will never be a dull moment anywhere in this story, or at least I hope.****

 ** **But before I begin, I must provide you all with a warning. This chapter will, 100%, contain a lemon in it.(That's why it's so long.) For those of you that do not wish to read that part, it will be clearly marked at when the lemon begins and ends. You have been warned. From now on, anytime a lemon happens, it will be marked at the beginning and end where it is in the story.****

 ** **Anyway, enough formalities, let's jump back into the story.****

Chapter 11: Proving the Love

Susie had me trapped in my chair, leaning over me. She had just made me promise that if she tells me a 'reward' that she wants to give me, that I will not back out at all.

I almost wish I hadn't promised. When she told me, I nearly shouted, "You want to do WHAT!?

"Didn't you hear me? For your reward…" Susie whispered in my ear. "I want to make you happy tonight. So let me do something for you…"

The idea of doing what she was talking about it hit me like a truck.

"No. Y-y-you don't mean…" I stuttered.

"No no no, not that far ahead. But I can make you feel happy tonight. You would like that, wouldn't you?" she whispered, voice full of lust.

"I-I-um-I don't-I" was all I could manage. It was true that the idea did sound interesting to me, but even so, could I really go that far?

"Shhh…" Susie said, sitting down in the chair with me. She gently placed a finger to my mouth to quiet me, and then proceeded to gently kiss me in an attempt to calm me.

"It's okay, calm down." she said gently. "Maybe I said that too quickly. But still, I want to make you happy Cameron. I really do."

I sat there looking at her for a few minutes. I knew we loved each other a lot, but still, I wasn't sure if I could fully commit myself to this.

Susie looked at me. She must have read my face to see just how confused and scared I was. I wanted to say it, but I didn't want hurt her feelings.

"Come on, you know you have had the thoughts of doing it. Even you can't deny that." she said, her voice sounding like she wanted a response.

I knew I had to say something. I couldn't just leave her in the dark here.

"W-w-well…" I tried to start with. She looked at me with genuine interest.

"I-I mean… I… I have thought about it… but I never…" I said, but Susie must have got what I was going for.

"Thought we would do it so soon?" she guessed. I nodded. Susie simply slumped her shoulders a little bit, before an idea came to her mind.

"Hmmm… how about this: if you go with this…" she began. I looked at her in curiosity.

"Then I'll be your servant." she finished. I blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, say that again? I don't think I heard right." I said.

"I think you did." Susie said with a smug grin. "I'll be your servant. And I'll do anything you want me to do for the whole day. Anything."

'Is… is she being serious? Anything? That's a little hard to believe.' I thought to myself. Still, it did seem tempting…

Suddenly, she moved and was right in my face. "Come on Cameron. You know you wanna do it."

My pulse increased very rapidly again. I very much wanted to say "No way."

But I didn't. Why?

Because I had promised.

I really hate making promises. Most of the time, they are used against me, and force me into unfavorable positions.

But there is something I hate more than that. Breaking a promise.

And there was no way in hell that I would break a promise to Susie. Even to a promise like this.

"I…" I started, but Susie shushed me. Looking into her eyes, I could see that she could very clearly guess what I was about to say. She smiled gently at me.

"That's my Cameron." she said, before kissing me again.

 _9:00 pm…_

'Well, this is it. Oh, I'm so screwed…'

I was lying down in bed, waiting. Susie was in the main room, doing some last second things like putting out the fire and locking the door. I would have helped, but she said to go ahead and wait in the bedroom. The whole time, I was very close to becoming a nervous wreck again.

'Okay, calm down Cameron. Maybe she was just joking in order to tease me again. She likes to do that a lot. That's got to be the rea-' my thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the bedroom door.

'Oh sweet love of Notch.' was my only thought. Instead of her normal nightwear, Susie just was wearing her underwear. She smiled very seductively at my reaction. I knew she could change her outfit to more or less anything she felt like wearing, but this… this was bold. The bra did little to cover anything, and her panties seemed to be rather tight.

"Hmmm… already staring, are we Cameron?" she teased. My face burned red, but I couldn't look away. The image was being burned into my mind.

Susie walked over, and got under the covers with me. She giggled when she looked over and saw me still staring, only now at her face. 'How does she feel no shame?!' my mind thought furiously.

"Aw, you're always so cute when you're embarrassed." she said, before rolling over to me. She gently runs her hand up my arm and to my face, before giving me a short kiss on the cheek.

"Come on now Cameron, no need to be shy now." she said, her voice sugary sweet. I tensed up a second, before slowly moving my hand to her and wrapping around her. If it was possible, she felt even softer than normal, probably due to the lack of her dress.

She closed her eyes as I let my instinct take over for a little bit, gently feeling her soft body. I made sure to not get carried away, staying away from the more 'personal' areas. For now at least. My touch seemed to make her only want more.

After a while, she grabbed my hand, forcing me to stop. She grabs the other one, and looks at me with her best seductive look.

"So, am I the only one who strips to there undergarments? Your turn." she says, before grabbing my shirt. My first instinct is to stop her, but I resist, letting her hand run under the shirt.

Before long, all I'm still wearing was my boxers, with still did little to stop my 'friend' from showing.

"You really were wearing too much, you know that?" she said, before pressing right up against me. My mind started to swim from the feeling of her on my exposed self. She felt so soft… I let out a small sigh of happiness.

"Mmmm… you see? We haven't even done anything huge yet, and already this is turning out better than you expected isn't it?" Susie asked, not needing a response. She already knew my answer.

"Now," she said, suddenly rolling over on top of me. "Let's see just how happy, you can REALLY be. But to do that…"

I knew where this was going.

"How about a little help here Cameron?" she said, pointing to the straps on her shoulders. Her smile… she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

'Oh jeez, here we go…' was my only thought, before, with a slightly shaky hand, I reached upward to her shoulders.

Two small movements of my hands later, and now the only thing left holding up her bra was the clip on her back.

"Almost there Cameron. One last step." Susie said, her eyes half closed, staring at me.

My head was going mad with all of the emotions flooding me. Even though I wanted to stop, I got the feeling she would make me do it anyway. So, reaching around her, I grasped at the hooks.

"Close your eyes while you do it please. And don't look until I say for you to." she suddenly commanded. 'Uh, that came out of nowhere. I guess… I do as she says?' I thought. Though a little confused, I closed my eyes, and after a second, unhooked the clip on her back.

For a little bit, she didn't make a noise.

Then…

"You can open your eyes now. I'm ready!"

I thought that I was in for a ride now. I thought that she was possibly psyching herself up for this.

I was not expecting what I REALLY saw.

Opening my eyes, I saw why she had my close them.

Susie had decided to work a little ahead for me.

Meaning, she had taken the liberty to fully reveal herself. So she had taken off her panties while my eyes were closed.

My eyes quickly widened at what I saw. Her entire body was now fully visible for me to see. Smiling devilishly at me, Susie showed of everything to me. From her green nipples on her breasts, all the way down to the slit of her vagina, everything was visible.

She easily felt me getting even harder under her, which she giggled at. "Oh Cameron, you're already getting this turned on? Oh, this should be fun."

I didn't say anything. I was too entranced by the sight in front of me. It wasn't until I felt her hands on my legs did I remember what was really going on.

That I still had my boxers on.

That she was on top of me.

That I had promised to go along with all of this.

My only thought: 'Oh, I'm so unbelievably fucked right now.'

Susie spoke again. She said, "Now, I think… it's your turn. And I'm gonna do this one personally."

Her hands quickly grabbed the top line of my boxers. Instantly, without me even thinking, my legs tried to clamp shut, but she held them apart.

And started to pull down.

 **!WARNING! LEMON STARTS NOW!**

In a matter of moments, my manhood was completely exposed.

Susie threw my boxers aside, and gave me one last seductive look.

"Now, the real fun begins." she said. My nervousness was on full blast now, wanting anyway to get away, but Susie had her sights set on me.

Using her legs to keep my legs pinned, she grabs my erect dick. A sudden wave of pleasure from this new sensation on my most sensitive area hit me like a train.

I gasp in shock, instinct trying to make my legs close. But with Susie holding them down, I couldn't do anything.

Gently, her left hand begins to rub a little on my shaft, while her right explores my exposed body, mostly around the chest. Her soft hands both do a good job in keeping me more or less paralyzed in pleasure.

"S-Susie…" I tried to speak, to say something, ANYTHING, but she quiets me with a kiss. 'How the hell does she multitask like this?! This has to be impossible to keep this kind of concentration.' I thought, which I didn't get long to ponder on as her left hand started to increase in rubbing.

Susie stops kissing me for a moment, and looks down at me. "You know you don't have to be shy Cameron. Go ahead." she said, in a seductive tone. After a second of collecting my thoughts, I reach up and run my hands all over her. Then, I try something. I gently rub her breasts, slowly working to the top. She quietly moans, my touch driving her wild.

Eventually, Susie is done just massaging me, she wants me to really feel good. She stops rubbing my shaft for a minute. Just when I wonder what's about to happen, I feel something warm touch it.

"Wh-wha-what are you…" I start to say, but another second later and she shuts me up, by touching her soft tongue and licking my manhood. The instant the tongue hits, my mind goes near blank in sheer ecstasy.

The dam was about to burst, but I resist, leaking out a small bit of pre-ejaculate. A small amount of relief passes through me. But shit was about to start getting very kninky now.

Susie licks up the small amount I had just released. Her eyes widened a little, guess she liked the taste. She kept on just gently licking my cock for a while, before deciding to bring out the big guns.

Stopping her movements for a small bit, she quickly looks at me. 'Is… is she looking for… permission? Like she even needs it at this point.' I thought. Nevertheless, I nod, silently saying 'go on.'

She smiled wickedly at that, and looked back down at my dick. After taking a moment to size me up, she goes in for the kill.

And takes my entire length into her mouth.

The instant that happened, my entire body tensed up, and I moaned at this new feeling. She gently sucks on my rod, occasionally flicking the opening with her warm tongue. I can't focus on anything other than the pleasure coursing throughout my body.

"S-Susie… you're mouth… s-so warm…" was all I managed to get out. She gets more wild, pumping up and down, licking my dick all over. Eventually, I can't take anymore.

"S-Susie… I'm about to…" I started to say, but never got to finish. Just before I could warn her, I explode inside her. Her eyes go wide all of the sudden, but she quickly recovers, slowly pulling away from my penis. All that I can do is let the relief wash over me. Susie swallows hard, gulping down all of my semen, before looking back over at me.

"Are you alright Cameron?" she asked, getting face to face with me while laying down on top of me.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine… just… that felt… amazing." I say. She smiles warmly at me, before pulling me into a hug.

Out of nowhere, my mind suddenly comes up with a bold idea. But its seems insane. 'But, she'll never see it coming.' was my thoughts. Even though I wasn't totally ready, I decided that it was my turn to make her feel good.

"But, Susie…" I said. She pulls away, looking at me with curiosity. I suddenly start to like this plan a lot more than I did a second ago. I flash her a sly smile, before quickly turning her over. Susie lightly shouts, surprised at my sudden movements. In a moment, now I was the one on top of her. "I think that it's my turn." I say, for once with my voice full of lust.

Out of surprise, she starts to say something, but I quiet her with a passionate kiss on the lips. While I kiss her, my hands run all over her again, but now I'm more focused on her breasts than anything. When the kiss ends, I moved down a little and kiss her on the neck. I think her mind is slowly melting from the sensations I'm giving her. 'Damn, and I just started doing this shit.' I thought.

After that, my eyes shift downward to her exposed chest. After a slight minute of hesitation, I grabbed her breasts and began to grope her. Hearing her moan was making me want to do more. So, I pulled my hand away from the left breast and, wondering what would her response would be like, gently licked the nub.

"GASP! Oh, Cameron!" Susie almost yelled out. For a few minutes, I mess with the left one while my other hand still gropes at her right breast. The more and more that I do, the more crazy she seems to get, wanting more pleasure. Then, after I finished with the left, I moved over to the one on the right. The cycle repeats, with her getting more and more turned on.

Finally, after that, I ran my hands down along her body. I didn't want to go straight to her womanhood. Not yet. Instead, I skip over that and start to rub along her legs, wanting to feel everywhere on her body. I gently massage her legs, and she sighs in happiness. I continue to go downward, until I got down to her feet. I slowly started to rub her feet, wondering if this would make her feel good. But the second I started, she starts to giggle, then laugh hard. I asked her with a rhetorical grin, "What, are you ticklish?"

"Yes-haha! No fair!" she said, her laugh somehow turning me on even further. "Please, Cameron, sto-hahahahahaha! I can't take it!" I listen to her request, and stop tickling her. She softly pants as she tries to regain her breath.

"Oh man… that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be." she says. I flash a devilish grin at her.

"The fun's only getting started, babe." I said, before kissing her for a moment. She seemed confused, until she felt my hands slowly sliding downward to her exposed womanhood. After the kiss ends, I move until I look right at the slit. Not wanting to hurt her, I simply gently rub the outside to start, but I do occasionally throw in a small tease on the opening of her pussy. She moans softly for a while until my fingers find something: her clitoris.

Susie instantly gasps at the sudden feeling on her most sensitive spot. She is almost paralyzed at my touch. "Oh Cameron… your… oh Notch… don't stop…" she moans. From where I was at, I had a perfect view of her blooming flower. I stopped rubbing for a moment to see some fluid on my fingers. After sniffing it, I gently taste the slimes love fluid. My eyes widen at the amazing taste. I wanted more.

I glanced up at Susie. She was blushing so hard seeing me so close to her womanhood. I gave her a look that said, 'May I?' She nodded. I grinned at her, before looking back down. Another second of looking and I lowered my face down, and then gave her vulva a gentle lick.

"AHH!" Susie nearly screamed. I could tell she was in absolute pleasure. I kept on licking the lips of her wet pussy, all the while holding her legs down with all my strength, as she wanted to clamp them around my head and pull me in more.

"Oh Cameron… don't stop… just… oh Notch…" was all that she could get out. I decided to change gears for a second. I moved upward to the top of her vagina and lightly licked on her clitoris. She gasped in pleasure once more from my touch. For a while, I licked under where her most sensitive spot was. Her breathing was ragged at this point, she was under constant pleasure.

Finally, she said to me, "Cameron, I'm close!" I nodded in understanding. I began to pick up the pace, licking the lips of her pussy with the occasional teasing of her clitoris. After just two minutes, she couldn't take anymore.

"Oh Cameron…" she said in orgasm, reaching her climax. Her vulva leaked out her love fluid, which I cleaned up with my tongue. 'She's so sweet.' I thought to myself.

 **End of lemon here. Safe now.**

I raised myself up to she Susie panting a little from what we had done. I got concerned and moved over to her. "Are you alright?" I asked.

She opened her eyes to look at me. A warm smile formed on her face as she reached out to hug me. "I'm fine Cameron. It's just that that was amazing… I told you that you'd like it huh?" she said, the latter bit with a smug look.

We laid down in the bed, with our exposed bodies under the covers. I had never thought our relationship would reach this level. I could tell that things were looking bright for the future.

"Hey Cameron." Susie called out to me. "Do you think that we might do that again some other time?"

I chuckled a little. "I would certainly hope so. Some other time though, we need rest. I'm drained." I said. She laughed gently, before pulling me closer to her for a hug. We spoke one more time before both of us passed out for the night, words that neither of us would tire of hearing.

I love you.

 _10:00 am, the next morning…_

 _Unknown location…_

 _Third person POV…_

On the outskirts of a city, an accident occurred. Walking back home, two figures, one a very tall man, the other a young girl, were holding hands on the hill they had rested on. But on the way, the girl figure tripped and fell down six whole blocks and landed hard on her legs.

"Oh Notch! Are you alright?!" the man said, before seeing the look of pain on the girl's face. "Oh shit, ummm… ok listen, I'm going to take you to a nurse, ok?"

"N-n-no… y-you know what would happen if you entered the town…" the girl replied.

"I'm not talking about the nurses there, I'm talking about a good friend of mine. It won't take long to get there." the man said.

The girl was in a lot of pain, but she understood. "Y-you'll have to carry me… I can't feel my legs…" she said, before shouting out as a sharp pain ran through her legs. The man, without hesitation, hoisted up the poor girl to carry her, bridal style. Thankfully, the girl wasn't hurt from the knee upward, so she could be carried like that.

"Hey, you'll be alright. You just sprained something, I think. We will get you better." the tall man said, before giving her a gentle kiss.

"Better… that sounds… nice…" the girl said.

"Ready?" he said. The girl nodded. One second later…

 _Poof!_

Both of them had disappeared.

In their place, a few particles of purple dust landed on the ground.

 ** **Ooh, some plot development! That means cliffhanger time! At least this time I've done the lemon scene, so you all can finally chill about that. I bet most of you thought that it was LONG overdue for that scene****

 ** **Anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed the newest and longest chapter so far! It's been my pleasure to type this story out for all of you wonderful people. I really hope you all are enjoying it.****

 ** **(Also, if you feel the lemon was kinda lackluster, keep in mind that it was my first time typing a lemon out, so cut me some slack okay? I mean, I am still a virgin, I'm just going off of what I have learned from various sources. *shudder* Youtube is a dark place sometimes.)****

 ** **As always if you want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your in-game username, what server, and when. Until the next chapter, stay awesome.****


	12. The Reunion (Part 1)

****What is up my followers/new readers! It's me, ButterHunter here, back with another brand new chapter in my story! I've got nothing new to say right now, so let's jump right back into the story!****

 **Chapter 12: The Reunion (Part 1)**

 _Time skip back to 9:00 am…_

 _Cameron POV…_

"Zzzzz…"

I was fast asleep. The dream I was having was very different than what I was used to.

The dream started out nice, with me in the house, and Susie appearing out of nowhere. She smiled cutely at me, I smiled back. Before long, the two of us, without even saying anything, started to make out. I was in bliss again.

Then, out of nowhere, a knock on the door was heard. Me and her broke apart for a second to look at the door, but dismissed it as nothing when no other knocking was heard for a bit. But the second we started to go at it again, the knock was heard again. This time I walked over to the door and looked through the small windows in it.

No one was at the door. I returned back to Susie, who was looking just as confused as I was. We both tried to shake it off. But then, a minute or two after we had sat down, the knock rang out again.

'Dear Notch, give it up already!' I thought. Susie looked unhappy that our moment was getting interrupted too. Just as I was about to straight up ignore it, a voice rang out.

"Help me…"

That got my attention, and it got Susie's too. We looked at each other, wondering if we should open the door. Eventually, we both walked over and, after another peek out the windows that showed no one was there, I opened the door.

And…

A figure stood on the doorstep. A tall, dark man. In his arms, a young girl was cradled, passed out.

Before anything else weird and kind of creepy could happen, the dream ended. As did my resting, as when it ended, my eyes shot open in the real world.

I was on my back, looking at the ceiling. A moment of calming myself down later, and I realized just how hungry I was. I glanced over at my watch on the nightstand.

 _9:10 am._

"Huh. Earlier than usual." I mumbled to myself. "Why am I up so early?"

Just then, everything that had happened last night came crashing down on me again. If I had been standing up, I would have fallen over. As it was, my mind was still reeling with all kinds of questions. 'Did I seriously go through with all of that?! When did I learn to be able to do that!? Did I promise to go through it all again?!'

In my hasty thinking, I failed to notice that I still had no clothes on, but a second later, I remembered. "Oh shit, better get something on." I said quietly, as I saw Susie still sleeping, presumably with nothing on either. It took nearly all of my willpower to not look.

 _One quick shower and dressing sequence later…_

I stood around in the main room for a while, really doing nothing. But after a few minutes, my stomach wanted my attention, as it got loud enough that I thought Susie would wake up. Thankfully, she didn't.

After a minute or so of looking around the kitchen, seeing what there was to eat, an idea formed in my head. 'Guess getting up earlier helps me do this.' I thought, as I started to make breakfast for the both of us for a change.

It took a lot longer than I thought it would to make her favorite breakfast. But in the end, it did look very delicious. I checked my watch.

 _9:45 am._

And then I heard the telltale squeak of the bedroom door opening. 'Perfect timing, food's ready.'

Susie walked in, wearing her usual dress, but her hat was in her hands right now. She was fiddling with the inside of it for some reason, but I dismissed it, thinking that she would tell me later.

Anyway, she finished messing around with it after a while, but didn't put it on yet. I looked over at me, and for the first time saw what I was doing this morning.

"Oh, good morning Cameron. I didn't see you there, I thought you were in the bathroom." she said, a cheery smile on her face.

"Good morning Susie. I woke up early today, so I thought I would make us breakfast for once." I told her. I moved around the counter so I could get ready to eat.

"Aww, you didn't have to, I would have." she said, trying to butter me up.

"Yeah, I think I did. You always make breakfast, so I thought I would be the gentleman for today." I said, sitting down.

"You even made my favorite." she said, seeing what I had made. Pancakes, toast, orange juice, some bacon, and some sausage was all laid out on the counter for us to grab as we pleased. "You're the best sometimes, you know that?"

"Wait, I'm only the best sometimes now? What am I the rest of the time?" I said, just messing around a little.

For a response, she hugs me tightly, whispering in my ear, "The rest of the time, you're my favorite person in the world."

"Aw, thank you Susie." I said, returning the hug. After a few more seconds, I pulled away, saying, "We better start eating now before the food gets cold."

"And no one likes cold pancakes." she said, sitting down next to me.

 **(I don't know about you guys, but all of the sudden I want breakfast right now. Dammit, look what I did to myself.)**

The next few minutes were just us digging into all that I had made. We didn't really talk much, other than the occasional, "This is amazing." and, "I always did want to cook for a living."

After ten minutes, pretty much everything I had made was gone. "Damn, that was fast. All that time cooking, and we finished pretty fast." I said aloud. Susie simply giggled, then let out a small burp. She covered her mouth in surprise, then said softly, "Excuse me." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, stop laughing!" she said, her face turning dark green again.

"Sorry, just how could I not?" I said, still chuckling a little.

After I finally calmed down, Susie went around to start cleaning up. I was about to help, but she said, "Hey Cameron, can you hand me my hat?"

I grabbed it off of the little crafting table she had placed it on, and started to walk over to her. The hat felt soft, much like her dress. For some reason, I was tempted to put it on, but I didn't, because I wasn't sure what Susie would say if I did. Probably say that I look funny.

I went around and tapped her shoulder, hat in hand. "Here's your hat, m'lady." I said, being silly again. She didn't turn, but her hand reached over behind her. Unfortunately, she couldn't see where she was reaching, so she ended up hitting me right in my face.

I fell over, surprised. In shock, Susie wheeled around, fear in her face. "Are you okay?!" she asked.

"Ow… yeah, I'm fine. Just look before you reach okay?" I said, rubbing where she had accidently hit me. She helped me up, before seeing that I was still rubbing it. "Does it still hurt?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, a little." I said. "Here, let me see." she said, before gently pulling my hand away. She looked at it a little before confirming, "Okay, nothing too bad, it'll just leave a mark for a minute." I sighed in relief.

"Anyway, here's your hat." I said, picking it up. But before I handed it over, I thought of something. I started to place it on her head for her, but she stopped me from doing that.

"Something wrong?" I asked. She grabbed the hat from me. Then, after one last check inside of it, she smiled and gently placed it on my head. She grabbed a mirror from the drawer in the counter and handed it to me. Looking into it, I felt a bit silly, wearing her hat.

"I look silly in this hat. You rock it better than I do." I said, still looking at myself. She giggled a little, before pushing the mirror down to look at me.

"I think you look handsome in that hat. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise." she said, before giving me another kiss. I set the mirror down on the counter, and kissed her back whole-heartedly.

After a minute of kissing, she pulled away, took the hat off of my head, and put it back on herself. We simply smiled at each other for a while after that.

As much as I hated to do it, we needed to start cleaning up, so I had to call off the together moment for now. She looked sad, but understood, and began to clean up with me.

 _Time skip to 10:05…_

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Third person POV…_

About two minutes away from the house, two figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The tall man slightly panted from the effort of holding up his friend, but he didn't care, he needed to get her to help.

"Are we… almost there?" the girl figure asked, the pain still sharp in her legs. The man looked down and nearly broke down at the sight of the girl in so much pain, but he knew that now was not the time to get emotional. He looked around a little bit, before seeing the house not to far away.

"Yeah, we're almost there, don't worry." he said, before starting the walk over to the house.

 _Cameron POV…_

After we cleaned up the small mess I had made, we moved over to the living room armchairs. We just relaxed for a second before Susie said that breakfast was wonderful. "I was nothing. I just felt like making it today." I said. I always felt like it was right to be humble in most things.

"Either way, you made a good breakfast. For that, I think you need something in return." she said.

"Oh no, I never gave you anything in return when you made breakfast, so you don't need to."

"Nonsense. I won't take no for an answer." she said, before moving over to me.

The next thing I know, she sitting down next to me, and pulling me close to her. The look on her face was so cute I couldn't look away. The next thing we know, we start to make out. Moaning into each others mouths, we never want this happy time to end.

That's when we heard a knock on the door.

At first, we didn't hear it, maybe because we just tuned it out. But after a while, the knocking became more and more frequent. We looked at the door, slightly irritated that our moment was getting interrupted. I got up and looked out the window. What I saw nearly gave me a heart attack.

On the doorstep, a tall dark figure I immediately recognized as a enderman was knocking on the door, while also holding a smaller figure in his arms. 'It's almost exactly like my dream this morning.' I thought in a panic.

"Oh shit…" I muttered, and quickly told Susie. She immediately rushed me into the bedroom, and told me to stay put. Like I needed any encouragement.

 _Susie POV…_

After making sure Cameron was safe in the bedroom, I quickly got ready and opened the door. Just like Cameron had said, a tall enderman was on the doorstep, and he held a small figure in his arms. But the second I saw the enderman, I immediately recognized it.

"End? What are you doing here?" I said.

"No time to chitchat! My friend here is hurt! Can you help?" he asked, his voice panicked. Without hesitating, I told him to teleport in here, which he did, and quickly placed the other person on the bed.

The other person was a human. A girl, to be exact. She was definitely young, maybe only half a head shorter than me, and with long, straight brown hair. She seemed to be half asleep, but she kept on winching in pain.

"What happened End?" I asked.

"Well, we were walking down our favorite hill this morning and all of the sudden she tripped and fell at least six blocks, landing hard on her legs. I don't know if she broke them, so I instantly thought to come to you." the enderman said, still in a panicked tone. I immediately checked the girl's legs. The left one seemed okay, but the right one was swollen and looked bad.

"Okay, well, the left one is fine, but I think I should splint the right one just to be safe, and give her some medicine." I said, much to the relief of End.

"Thank Notch. Do you need my help with that?" he said, now with a much calmer voice.

"Yes I will, but first I need to get the supplies. Stay right there." I ordered. He nodded as I headed to the back for some more supplies.

In the bedroom, Cameron was laying down on the bed, looking worried. "Is it safe to go out there yet?" he asked.

"Actually, yes it is. I mean, the enderman is still there, but I know him, he isn't gonna hurt you." I told him as I grabbed supplies around the room. He looked pale as I said that. I guessed that the fear of other mobs still was strong with him.

"Go on, he won't bite." I told him, before running to the bathroom for the last thing I needed.

 _Back to Cameron POV…_

So naturally, going out to see this enderman was not on my top ten things to do today, so I just stayed where I was. But when Susie came back from the bathroom, she looked at me, saying silently, "Why haven't you gone out yet?"

"Sorry, but I don't feel like taking that risk today!" I said quietly.

"Ugh, fine, your call." she groaned, before leaving. But to be honest, I was genuinely curious about this enderman. Susie would not lie to me about something like this, so I thought that maybe would be worth the risk to go out there. But still, if she was mistaken…

So I tried to listen in by leaning against the door, trying to hear what was going on. Soon, Susie's voice called out, telling the enderman to help by holding down the other girls legs so she could splint one of them.

After about maybe five minutes, Susie said again, "Ugh, I can't do this alone, I need more hands."

The enderman, or End as Susie had called him, said, "Don't look at me, I'm holding her legs down here."

"Wait, hold on, I got something we can do. Stay put for a second." Susie called out, before I could hear footsteps coming to the door. I jumped back onto the bed just before she opened the door.

"Okay, listen." she said, closing the door behind her. "I know you're scared of other mobs, but please, this one is friendly, and he needs to help his friend, but I need another person to help. Please help us."

"No! I don't want to go out there, because I don't know if…" I started, but before I could finish, Susie grabbed my arm and started to pull. I tried to resist but failed, resulting in her dragging me out the door.

"Okay, End, this is my friend, Cameron." Susie introduced. I think he waved at me, I don't know, I just tried my hardest to not look him in the face while also straining to get back in the other room. Susie glared at me. "Come on Cameron, he's not gonna hurt you." she said. I took a deep breath.

"If you get this wrong, you owe me!" I said quietly to her. Slowly, I looked up at the enderman. He stared at me, his purple eyes making me dizzy.

"How's it going?" he asked. I felt pale and sweaty. I mean, it took me forever to get used to Susie, and she at least looked human. End didn't, which made me a million times more afraid of him.

"Oh good, just trying to confront one of my biggest fears today, nothing too bad." I said sarcastically. End merely chucked a bit at that, before extending a hand out to me, saying, "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." At first, I thought he was about to smack me, but then I saw it as a friendly gesture. After a second of hesitation, I reluctantly took it and shook. His hand felt rather smooth to the touch, almost like obsidian.

After a while of calming me down, we turned back to the girl. She did seem to be in rather extreme pain, so I did feel like we should help her out. But something was bothering me. I couldn't quite explain it, but for some reason, this girl reminded me of someone. I couldn't imagine who though, as I never saw any other people on my journey before I met Susie.

"Okay, so End, you're going to help me with the brace. Cameron, you just need to hold her legs down so that she doesn't kick us if we tweak something the wrong way, okay?" Susie said. I nodded, glad that I was a bit farther from End. I still felt a little antsy about him.

Anyway, after about maybe five minutes, the brace was in place around the girl's leg. I still couldn't get that thought of 'I know this person' out of my head. I tried to ignore it, but at the same time, wanted to know why this person jogged my mind.

"Whew. Thank you, both of you. You were a big help." Susie said. I simply nodded, while End shook Susie's hand, giving her quite a lot of thanks for helping this girl.

"You have no idea how thankful I am. I wasn't sure if I could bear seeing her in so much pain." he said. I wondered if now would be alright to ask him some questions.

"All right, now End, can I ask you some questions? I need answers." I said, hoping I didn't sound to rude. End looked over at me.

"I guess so. What do you need?" he asked. Susie went to the back to clean up a little in the bathroom. I kinda wanted her to still be here, but End hadn't hurt me yet, so…

"First, you are okay with humans around, and don't want to kill everyone that you see, yes?" I asked. He nodded. Internally, I let out a sigh of relief. 'I better ask him why later.' I thought to myself.

"Okay, second, why is this human so important to you?" I asked. This time, he seemed to get a bit uncomfortable at my question.

"Oh, uh, well…" he started. 'Stuttering voice, nervousness, sweating a little. Does he really care that much to this girl?' I thought.

"Well… she is, well, one of my only friends in this world, so I think that's why. Yeah." he said, but there was something in his voice that was off.

"You sure she is just a good friend?" I asked. I did have a small idea starting to form about who this girl was to him, but I wanted conformation.

"Well, um… we kind of…" he started to say, but just then Susie came back over, cutting our conversation short.

"Hey, back off for a second you two. I need to put this on her head." she said, holding up a cool cloth. End looked relieved as he moved away. I wasn't to happy, but I still did as I was told.

The second that Susie placed the rag on the girl's head, she groaned and her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes slowly looked at Susie who was still gently mopping up the sweat on the new human's forehead. She then looked over and saw End, who even I could tell that he looked elated to see her woken up. Her eyes then looked over at me.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but for a brief second, her eyes squinted at me, not in a menacing way, more like a 'Have I seen you before?' look. The same one I had given her when I got my first clear look at her.

Before I could even acknowledge that, End practically ran over and hugged her. Thankfully, Susie saw this and moved, or else I'm willing to bet he would have bowled her right over. "Thank Notch, your awake." he said, with… 'Is that a tear running down his face?' I thought. Purple liquid was gently dropping from his eyes, so I guess it was. It was strange, I had never seen an enderman cry before.

The girl gently lifted her arms to hug him. Finally, after a while, she pulled away. Susie took this moment to start assessing the poor girl.

"Can you speak?" she asked. The girl nodded, then thought better of it and said, "Yes." The voice sounded very familiar to me, even though I couldn't make any connections… Who is this girl?

"Well, I think some proper introductions are needed. I'm Susie, and over there is Cameron." Susie said.

At her words, the girl looked over at me again. Her eyes said very plainly, 'Okay, now I know I have seen you before. Where have we met?' I was trying to figure this out myself.

"Anyway, what's your name?" Susie asked.

"My name? My name is Paige. Paige Wallis."

 ** **Oop, gotta cut off the chapter here for now. Sorry, but if it keeps on going, then this would not only take forever to type up, but also the whole thing might be WAY longer than I want. I like to have chapters longer than 2k words, but if it gets close to or goes over 5k, then I start looking to wrap up. Anyway, I think you guys like cliffhangers, so this one should keep you busy for a while.****

 ** **(And before any of you start to yell at me about hating cliffhangers, let me ask you this: if you hate that I keep putting cliffhangers everywhere, would you still be reading my story? I think not.)****

 ** **So thank you all so much for reading my newest chapter of my fanfic! I promise that the story is only getting started, I still have many, and I mean MANY ideas going down the road on how the story will play out. I just have to decide on how I want to play it out.****

 ** **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, just PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. And something else, I got the Wii U recently, and I got Super Mario Maker for it, so if you guys have some levels you would like me to play, PM me the course code and I'll give it a play sometime. Until the next chapter, stay awesome.****


	13. The Reunion (Part 2)

**Hello all of my loyal readers! It's ButterHunter here, back with the next chapter in my story! I hope you all are still really enjoying my story. It's been a huge honor to write this story for you all. I hope you all will continue to read until the very end, and then when that happens, you just start up on the next book I start up.**

 **Anyway, enough chitchat, let's get back into the story!**

Chapter 13: The Reunion (Part 2)

 _Cameron POV…_

I think the others kept on talking on other things afterwards. I wouldn't know. I was too busy being in complete shock at what the newcomer had said.

Paige Wallis.

All this time, I had been alone, living with the fact that my family was dead. But now, someone I was absolutely certain was related to me was right in front of me. I couldn't believe it, it's impossible...

I pretty much tuned out everything at that point, doing absolutely nothing other than staring in disbelief...

 _Susie POV…_

After the new girl had said her name to be Paige, something started to stir in my mind. I know I had heard the name Paige before, but for some reason, I couldn't remember where or when. I just shrugged it off for now, I needed to talk to her more.

"So then, Paige, may I ask you how you feel right now?" I asked politely.

"Ummm… I'm okay right now, but I think you're friend is not doing so well." she replied, pointing.

I turned to look at Cameron. What I saw surprised me, he wasn't doing well indeed. His face had gone deathly pale, sweating like a madman, shaking like crazy. The only other time he went like this was when he first saw me, but even then wasn't nearly as bad as this.

"Um, Cameron? Are you alright?" I asked. He didn't respond. I said a little louder, "Cameron? Hello?" Still no response. I walked over and waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Cameron? You in here?" I asked, with still no response.

"Okay, better get you to the back…" I muttered, see the other two staring at him. I said, "One sec, just need to talk to this boy real quick…" before pulling him over to the bedroom. His eyes never left the newcomer until I dragged him to the bedroom.

When we were in the bedroom, I pushed him on the bed, telling him to stay put for a minute. He didn't move, so I think he heard me. I could tell that he was in no mood to talk right now, he needed some time to think.

Walking back out, I saw that Paige had sat up now, and End was sitting on the little stool next to the sickbed. "Is he okay?" she asked.

"Yeah sorry, don't know what got into him. Anyway, I need to do a quick examination of your leg real quick…"

 _Cameron POV…_

'This is impossible. How did she live?' I thought to myself.

I barely cared about anything else other than what the girl had said. It couldn't be, she had to be someone else…

In my thinking, I pulled out the picture of my old family, the one thing that I still had of my old life. There, with my arm around her, was my six year old sister. She smiled at the camera, a big tooth missing. Even though the picture didn't show it, I could see that she clearly wanted my arm off of her. We always had had a rocky relationship, but we were okay with it.

Now, six years later, she was back in my life. Or was she? Maybe this is a different Paige Wallis. There has to be at least one other family with the last name Wallis in this world. Come to think of it, she never said what town or city she was from. Maybe I was just being overdramatic.

I sighed, my thoughts more confused now than they had ever been in my life, and that was saying something.

'Well, there's only one way to know for sure.' I thought. I needed to ask this newcomer some questions. Problem was, after my breakdown earlier, I didn't know if she would be willing to talk to me.

I stood by the door, wondering how I should start to ask my questions. Beyond the door, a small yelp was heard, I guess from the girl's sore leg. I wondered just how serious the injury was. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

Susie was next to the sickbed, assessing the leg of the poor girl. End was close by, holding the girl's hand. Only Paige really noted that I came back from the back, the other two just glanced over.

At that point, I remembered I still had the picture in my hand. I sat down in one of the armchairs and looked at it again. 'If she is still kicking, then is it possible… no, don't get your hopes up. Your parents are dead, you saw it, nothing will change it." I almost started to cry again, but I knew crying wouldn't get me anywhere.

"Aaaannnd there. Done!" Susie called out. Looking back, she had made a rather complex splint, and placed it around the girl's leg. Paige tapped the floor with her foot, then gingerly stood, placing pressure on it. She didn't wince.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Susie." she said politely. Susie was about to say something, but at that point, I took over.

"Yes, yes, good job Susie, but right now, I have a few questions for little miss Paige here." I said, thinking that I was being very ballsy right now.

The three of them looked over, End looking confused, Susie looking surprised at my sudden interruption, and Paige looking miffed.

"I'm sorry, but was I talking to you?" she said, her voice not happy with me at all.

"No, you weren't, but now that you are, I have some questions for you." I threw right back at her. She realized her mistake, muttering under her breath something I couldn't hear, probably a curse or something.

"All right, fine, what's soooo important for you to know?" she asked, obviously trying to piss me off. It wasn't working very well for her to say the least.

"Come, take a seat. You two should also hear this." I said. Confused, Susie and End pulled some chairs over from the counter, and Paige sat in the other armchair and turned it so that all four of us were in a little circle together.

"Okay, so, for starters, you said that your name was Paige Wallis, yes?" I asked.

"Yes, I told you this already." she replied angrily.

"Okay, so tell me, where are you from?" I asked. I seemed to hit a nerve there as she looked around a bit.

"I'm… I'm from a town… how far from here End?" she said, turning to the enderman.

"About a good half hour away from here." he said, his voice certain. 'Dang, I almost hit one.' I thought.

"All right then, now tell me, how's your family doing?" I asked, and this question I knew was very personal, because her expression turned a bit sad before returning back to her miffed expression.

"Their… gone. They left this world a while ago." she said, her voice quivering the tiniest bit. She glanced over at End, who was looking at me curiously, no doubt wondering where I was going with all of this.

"Interesting…" I said, thinking on what I was going to say next. "Your family, would it have been two parents and a brother?"

"Yeah…"

"Mother working on a fitness program, father a smoker?"

"Yes…"

"Brother kept on bothering you, but you put up with it?"

"How… yes." she said, her voice telling me that it was insane that I knew all of this.

"And let me guess: your family died to a creeper explosion that happened just after a massive attack."

At my words, the face of the girl instantly paled. She got up and grabbed the collar of my shirt with both hands.

"Ok, how do you know all of this?! Tell me!" she half-yelled. Her face showed anger, but I could see a lot of sadness being suppressed.

"How would I not?" I said, my voice surprising even me with how calm I was. I held up the picture of her to see. My family.

OUR family.

She let go of me and grabbed the picture and looked at it, her eyes widening with shock. She looked at me, and her next words were shaky.

"Who… who ARE you?!"

"Heh… you saw the picture and my story and still don't fully understand." I said, standing up and walking over to the window. I looked out it a little, stalling for a second, before saying, "Jeez, and here I thought I was explaining to someone who could understand." I looked over at her, she seemed confused. "I guess I was mistaken once again to try and explain something…" I fully turned and looked her dead in the eye. "...to my little sister."

I may as well have dropped a bomb on the ground.

Susie eyes widened in shock, guess she didn't fully come to terms with who this girl was. End was slowly mouthing the last few words I had said. But Paige's reaction was nothing short of dramatic. If her face could get any paler, it did. She completely lost all control of her shaking, and I could tell that she was denying everything I had said.

"Your… you're lying! I'm not your sister, my brother is dead!." She said, very close to her breaking point.

"Am I? Did you ever see a body of your brother? What proof do you have that I was dead?" I restored.

"STOP LYING TO ME!" she screamed, before pulling out two small knives and rushing me. Fortunately, I swiftly moved around her just before she thrusted the weapons at where I had been.

"Paige!" End yelled, before teleporting around her and grabbing her around the middle. She fought with all her might to break free of her friends grasp.

"LET GO OF ME END!" she screamed. But before anything else happened, Susie ran around and did what she had done to me before, hitting certain spots on Paige's back, making her go limp.

"Sorry miss, but we don't allow people to start fights in my house." she said, her voice part worried to see if I was okay, part angry that Paige had pulled a knife on me, and part confused as to what the hell was going on. I couldn't blame her to be honest. I had it all in my head, and I was still confused.

Together, the three of us moved a limp Paige over to the armchair again, and after a quick talk with End, tied her to it so that she couldn't rush me again. I also confiscated her knives, with End telling me that was her only defence as of right now.

After making sure we had her bound, Susie reached over and hit the same spots on Paige's back again, making her spring back to normal. "I'll have to teach you that later. Pressure points are super useful." she whispered to me, before we all turned to the struggling girl.

"Release me! Lemme at him! End, help me!" she yelled to no effect.

It took quite a while, but we eventually got her to stop struggling. "Now," I said, once again taking over. "I would like to have you NOT start trying to kill me without hearing me out. I get that you think I'm lying, I understand that. But I want to know certain things, and I also want to prove to you that I am not lying."

She got angry again at my words, but after giving the bands one more attempt to break free, she resigned to letting me explain.

So I did. I told her everything I could, which wasn't much to be perfectly honest. I told her everything I thought was important, with her asking the occasional question to further support what I was saying. After a while, the expression on her face changed once again. No longer was she looking at me like I was crazy.

Now she looked at me with hope. Hoping I was being true. Hoping that something was going to go right here.

At some point I started to go into detail about how I met Susie, but I decided to leave out the parts where we were a couple. I thought it would be weird for her to hear all that. I glanced over at Susie, asking her with my eyes if I should or shouldn't leave out those parts.

Her eyes seemed to say back, "No, not yet. Poor girl already has enough to deal with."

My story continued, only with me leaving out the more personal bits. But I think she could tell I was leaving something out.

When my story finished, Paige only sat there for a few seconds, taking it all in. I couldn't really blame her. I dumped everything onto her, every emotion I had carried with me for so long…

"I never thought… I would see family again… especially not my brother." she said, finally accepting me that I really was her brother.

"Neither had I. And yet, here we are." I said. Paige started to get up, but forgot that she was tied down to the chair. "Can you please untie me now?" she said. Quickly, I cut the ropes binding her. She stood, rubbing where one of the ropes had been on her arm.

"I… I…" she said, before I noticed tears starting to form on her face. I realized I was going to have to play a role I hadn't been in a long time: big brother.

"I…" she tried to say something, but lost all control. The dam had burst, tears streaming down her face, as she ran over to me, hugging me for comfort. I embraced her back, saying "Shhh… you're safe now. Shh…" In response, she bawled harder, so many emotions flowing out of her. I will not lie, I was close to tearing up too. I could tell that she tried to be strong, but now, she wanted to be the little kid again, and let everything out.

It took a good five minutes, but soon Paige stopped crying. She took a step back, trying to recompose herself as best as she could. She said, in a very shaky voice, "I-I'm okay… I just n-needed a moment."

"I understand." I said, sitting back down. She followed suit. "So, how did you live? You got blasted backwards into a solid wood wall, with partly collapsed on top of you." I asked.

"Well, mostly I'm still alive due to End over there." she said, waving her hand at End.

"Let me guess: you two had a rather rocky start huh?" I guessed. "Oh, you have no idea." End said.

The two of them started to explain. I won't go into giant detail, but it mostly involved the first part of their meeting with a few fights, a hell of a lot of tears, and finally finding a village when Paige turned nine. I was shocked that she did all that she did before she even reached double digits.

But close to the end of their story, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. I swear on two occasions, they looked at each other, as if they were trying to hide something. I had a sneaking suspicion about what it was, but I didn't interrupt yet.

"...and then after I fell off the hill, End got both of us here." Paige wrapped up. I was surprised at all she had done. Kinda put my five years of traveling to shame.

"That sounds like you two had quite the adventure after 'the incident'." I said. Both of them nodded. "But, something doesn't add up here."

They both looked at me curiously. "Are you two sure that after all this time, you still are 'just friends'?" I said. I knew I hit something, because both of them started to blush the tiniest bit. "What makes you think that we aren't just friends?" Paige retorted, trying to throw me off.

"Well, the fact that the way you two talk…" I said, sitting up. "You two love each other, don't you?" I said, my face smug.

They both instantly denied what I said, saying things like, "No, you're crazy! Why would we?" to, "That's, well, ridiculous!"

"I'm right, aren't I?" I said, my grin getting even bigger. They both looked around, trying to find something to get out of this.

Finally, Paige sighed, and gave in. "Yes… we like each other… a lot."

"There, was that so hard to admit?" I said. She looked back at me, and idea suddenly coming to mind. "Well, how about you and Susie! You two like each other don't you?" she said.

I wasn't expecting that. I kept as calm as possible, glancing over at Susie. She simply shrugged behind both of their backs. I looked back and said, "No, why?"

"Really? I don't believe you." Paige said, a smug look of her own on her face.

"Why don't you? We're just friends." I denied. "Really? Then how about this?" she said, before turning to Susie.

"Are you two a couple? Be honest." she said to Susie. Susie thought about it for a second. I drew a line on my neck, telling her silently, "Don't do it!" behind their backs.

She hummed quietly for a second, before getting a small smile to her face. I shook my head even more, telling her, "Don't do it! Please, I beg you!"

"Hmm… I don't know. I think I'll talk with Cameron about that." she said, the grin becoming wicked. She moved over to me, before sitting down in the chair with me. I whispered, "What are you doing?!" "Shh…" she said.

"You want to know if we are a couple or not?" Susie said. Paige nodded, wondering where this was going.

At that point, if I knew what was about to happen, I would have said to my sister, "Careful what you wish for."

Susie looked at me, the grin still on her face. I was trying with all my might to say, "Don't you dare!" with my expression, but my plea fell on blind eyes.

Her eyes close as she moves over to my face. Too late, I tried to move, but no chance. She kisses me full on the lips. My face instantly turned bright red as what was happening fully came to my mind.

I glanced over at my sister, and she looked surprised at Susie's actions. I couldn't blame her.

For a full minute, Susie kept a firm lip lock on me. I already knew trying to struggle was pointless. Still, this was so embarrassing to me. I mean, how else could I react to the fact that my sister was sitting in front of me, watching her own brother get kissed?

Finally, she pulled away, slightly panting for breath. My face had to have been more red than an apple at that point. I looked over at Paige and End, who both had half smug, half shocked looks on their faces.

"Okay, fine, you caught me. I do like Susie. Alright?" I said, thoroughly defeated.

In response, my sister squeezed End's hand. She looked at him, possibly having a silent conversation with him. Then, something I never expected, the two of them shared a brief kiss. Let me tell you, nothing is weirder than seeing your own sister, who is younger than me by the way, getting a kiss.

'What the hell is happening at this point?!' I thought to myself.

 _An hour of catching up later…_

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Paige said, leaning by the door.

"Yeah, guess it is." I said. End and Susie were off to the side, talking about what they should do regarding Paige's leg.

"It's… good to finally see you again." she said to me, eyes tearing up the tiniest bit. "Yeah, I'm… happy. Knowing that I have a least ONE relative still with me is a big sigh of relief." I said.

End and Susie came over, wrapping up their talk. I didn't catch much of it, but I did hear, "...it comes off or she feels it twinge again, both of you come right back here again."

"I understand." End said.

"Ms. Paige, you should be able to fully take off that cast in about two to three weeks. Come right back if you feel pain again, okay?"

"Yes, thank you so much for everything." Paige said, before turning back to me.

"I guess…" she started, but I interrupted, saying, "No, no goodbyes now. This is more like… see you later."

She laughed a little at that, saying, "Heh, yeah. See you later." We both had one last quick hug, before they both went outside, and teleported away.

"Siiiggh…" I said, honestly kind of relieved that she was gone. I need a break for now. ONE meeting with a previously thought to be dead family member really took the energy out of me.

"Aww, glad that it's just you and me now?" Susie cooed behind me. I turned, just in time to get a kiss to the cheek.

"Heh, yeah, it's good to be just us now." I said, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Mmm… I'm glad." she said after we parted. She started to walk away, when a thought suddenly came back to my mind.

"Hey, hold up." I called back. She turned, saying, "Yes, Cameron?"

"You owe me." I said, a grin starting to form on my face.

"Hm? What do you mean?" she said, genuinely confused.

"I believe a certain someone owes me a favor of going through what we did last night." I said, trying to jog her memory. She thought for a moment, before realization struck.

"Oh… I did, didn't I?" she said, a grin of her own forming on her face.

"You really forgot the deal we made last night? You, miss Susie, now are my cute servant." I said, trying at a attempt to butter her up. In answer, she moved closer to me, her best seductive look on her face.

"Sooo… do you want it today? Or would you rather wait till tomorrow, when you get me as it all day?" she said. 'Oh, right, she brings up a good point.' I thought.

After a moment of careful consideration, I decided to wait one more day. 'It's, what, 3:00 pm? Yeah, it can wait till we get more time together.' was my reasoning.

"Well then," she said, stepping ever closer to me. "Look forward to it."

 **Welp, that's about all the time I can have on this chapter. Sorry if it feels a bit too quickly cut off, but I needed to end the chapter when I did. As for my reason…**

 **Well, see, I've been out hunting with my dad, and where we go has no WiFi, so I did finish, I just couldn't post. Sorry bout that.**

 **But anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed this quirky part two of my story. I promise, this story will still be going very strong for a LONG time. Just things happen that force me to postpone the stuff I WANT to do.**

 **As always, if any of you awesome people want to play some Minecraft with me, PM me with your MC username, when, and what server. Until next chapter, stay awesome.**


	14. Susie's Promise and Some Lessons

**What is up all of you awesome readers out there, it's ButterHunter here, back with the next chapter in my story! Still really hoping all you out there really enjoy reading, it really warms my heart to see so many people that like my story. But enough about that, you came here to get more story, not sappy author notes. Let's jump right in!**

Chapter 14: Susie's Promise and Some Lessons

 _Time skip to 8:00 am the next day…_

"Nggh…"

I always hated getting up in the mornings. No matter how much stuff is going on around me, I always never feel like dragging myself out of bed. But I knew that I couldn't lay down and do nothing all day, so I resigned myself to open my eyes.

The light of the window filtered in the room, bringing the brand new day with it. I rubbed my eyes, before rolling to my side, saying, "Time to get up Su…"

Susie wasn't in the bed. Her half was neatly made. I was about to get up and look for her, when I saw the note on her pillow. I picked it up and read it. It said:

 _Good morning Cameron! If you want breakfast, just call for me!_

"Huh. Odd…" I said, reading the note again. 'Why is she doing this instead of just having me walk out there?'

Then it hit me: we had agreed on today for her to do everything I asked her to do, as I had gone along with everything she wanted me to do two nights ago. 'But, surely she would take it THAT far right? Turning herself into little more than a slave? That's not like her.' I thought.

Then again, Susie herself was full of surprises, so I could be wrong. There was only one way to find out.

"Susie? Are you out there?" I called. About ten seconds later, the door opened, and Susie stepped in, wearing…

My eyes widened at what she was wearing. She wore outfit that maids normally would wear, a dress with a small apron on the front and frills on the arms. I was caught off guard by this sudden costume change, to say the least. She noticed my surprise and I guess decided to play it even thicker.

"Oh… if something wrong Master Cameron?" she said, her voice sounding worried. She walked over to me, and sat down on the bed in front of me. Everything she was doing… it was too much.

"S-Susie… what are you doing?" I asked, wanting a solid answer for what she was doing. Was that so wrong?

She simply smiled at me, saying, "Don't you remember? I made a promise with you. Now, I do everything you want me to, no matter how crazy." My head was starting to spin a little bit, but I shook it a little and tried to get my thoughts together.

"But, you don't have to go this far, you know?" I said. She giggled at that, saying, "What if I wanted to, hmm?"

After a few more minutes of confusion, I gave up, mostly because I was hungry. I started to get up to get some clothes, but Susie pushed me back down, saying, "No no no, don't get up yet. I'll get what you want." She hurried off to the closet, grabbing my favorite shirt, some pants, and my boots, before returning back to me.

"Here, will this outfit work today?" she asked me. I nodded, still taken off guard by her dedication to be my servant.

After about two minutes of putting on the clothes, Susie lead me to the main room, where I saw breakfast ready for the both of us on the counter. We both sat down, and began to eat.

 _One breakfast later…_

"Damn, how do you always make such good food?" I asked Susie, who was cleaning up the counter. I had started to help, but she insisted against it, saying that today was my day to be totally lazy if I wanted because she would do everything.

I moved over to the living room, thinking about if she was being totally honest about doing EVERYTHING I wanted her to do.

Then, I decided to test it. After Susie finished cleaning, she moved to a chair by the counter, a book in hand. Before she could sit down, I called over to her, "Hey Susie, can you come over here?"

"Yes, what may I do for you?" she said, coming over at once. I thought around a little bit, thinking of stuff to try.

"Okay, now… can you move me to the bed? I think I left something there." I asked tentatively. Without so much as a second thought, Susie picked me up by the middle, carried me to the bedroom, and sat me down on the bed.

'Hmmm… okay, that one was easy. I need more to go on.' I thought. I looked over by the nightstand, and grabbed my watch, something I forgot to grab before I left. I turned back to Susie. "Okay… how about you lead me back to the living room, and then sit down with me for a while." I said.

She nodded, extending a hand to help me get up. I took the hand, and she pulled me up and took me back to my chair. We both sat down, and I was wondering what I should try next.

Susie fidgeted next to me. I heard her barely murmuring something under her breath. It sounded like, "...lease say… ay cudd… uddle." I got my next idea pretty quickly at that point.

"Susie?" I said. She immediately snapped to attention, saying, "Oh, yes Cameron?" I smiled as I said, "Can we have a cuddle session? We haven't had one in a long time."

Susie said no words, she instantly hugged me tightly, obviously insanely happy. For a while, no words are said, we just hug, enjoying one of our favorite moments together.

Then we pulled apart slightly to look at each other. I stare lovingly into her eyes, and she does the same. Before long, we can't stand just looking. So, we move closer and kiss, and before I know it, it turns passionate.

I shift my position so that we are a bit more comfy, but then she suddenly pulls me forward, so now I'm on top of her, still kissing as she pulls me as close as she possibly can.

"Mmm… Su… sie…" I try to say something to her, but can't, seeing as how I'm in a tight lip lock. Her hands roam all over me, encouraging me to do the same to her.

Finally, after a few minutes, we pull apart. A thin trail of saliva and slime once again lingers as we pull away. 'Notch damn, how much more can I love this woman?' I thought giddily to myself.

We move ourselves back into the chair normally, and for a good ten minutes, we do nothing other than simply hug, and kiss gently once or twice. I didn't think anything else in the world mattered now. All I cared about was my time being with Susie.

"I love you Susie." I said. She smiled broadly before saying, "And I love you too Cameron."

 _Time skip to 1:00pm…_

'Geez, it's a hot day today.' I thought, wiping the sweat off of my brow.

I went outside a bit to look around and see if there was anything to do, but nothing very important caught my eyes. What I did catch, was that the sun we beating down on the land.

'It's the middle of fall, and it's this hot?! That's not right.' I complained in my head. I took out my small thermometer, checking how bad it was. "90 degrees… **(Fahrenheit of course. 'Merica!)** that's way too much for a fall day!" I said out loud.

With a sigh, I packed my stuff back up and walked back to the house.

When I got home, Susie was inside, indeed also feeling the intense heat outside. She seemed to be sweating, but I knew better. She doesn't technically sweat, but her slime does slightly drip like she is.

My arrival caught her attention, and she came over with one of her cold towels. "Here, I got these out for us." she said, tossing me the towel.

Putting the towel on my head, I started to complain to Susie. "It wasn't even over sixty just two hours ago! And now I go outside and suddenly it's 90! How does that even make sense?!"

"I don't know. Let's just try to go about like normal, and not complain too much. It won't help." Susie said, returning to the counter and continued to wipe it down.

"Sigh…" I said, sitting down in front of her. Then, suddenly, an idea came to mind. 'Huh, how did I not think of that earlier?'

"Hey Susie, is there a lake or a river close by here?" I asked. She looked at me, confused at first.

"Yeah, there's a small lake a few minutes from here. Why?" she asked. I didn't answer, I was too wrapped up in thought. 'Perfect. I should start to get my stuff I need…'

"Hello? Cameron? You there?" Susie said, waving a hand in my face. I snapped back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was thinking, since it's so swelteringly hot here, why not go cool off at the lake, or a river, or something?" I said.

I don't really know what I was expecting, but definitely not what did happen. Her face turned the tiniest bit fearful, and she backed off the smallest amount, before regaining her composure.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just… why do you want to cool off by the lake? Why not just cool off here?" she returned to me.

"Well, it's because I think the water will be perfect in this heat. Do you not want to come?"

"I…" she looked uncomfortable as she looked for an answer. "I do, it's just…"

"Yeah?"

"Umm… I… I'll tell you when we get there." she said quickly. It's caught me off guard, the way she suddenly just ended the conversation that quickly.

'Oh well, guess I'll find out why she's acting like this in a few minutes.' I thought.

 _About 5 minutes later…_

"Yes! There!" I said, pointing.

Right there, sparkling in front of us, was the lake. No one else, other than an animal or two, was in sight. It was perfect.

"Finally! Time to beat this heat." I said, walking over to the edge of the lake, next to a small sandy area. Susie followed, but very reluctantly.

After a few minutes, I managed to fashion a folding chair and a large umbrella into a sort of beach chair. I figured if either of us got tired, then we could rest in that chair for a bit.

Then, I was almost ready to dive in. I just needed to see if Susie was ready.

"Susie! You ready to get in?" I called. She turned from setting down her stuff next to the chair. She hadn't even changed yet, and looked… afraid. 'Why does she look like that?' I thought.

I walked over to her and asked, "Susie? Are you alright?"

"Cameron, there's… something I should've told you… but I didn't want to shoot you down…" she said, her voice very soft. Even though she was in a… different getup of the maid costume, she looked as though she was trying to hide something. She didn't look at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm… I'm afraid… I'm scared of water. I can't swim." she said. Suddenly, it clicked back in my head. 'Oh, right… slimes can't swim…' I thought.

"I've… I've tried. Once. I nearly killed myself. If one of my friends hadn't been around as well…" she didn't finish, but she didn't need to.

"Then… why didn't you say so? I would have understood." I said. She turned back to me, and I was surprised to see that tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Because… you seemed to excited by the idea… I couldn't say no. And now we're here and…" she trailed off.

I felt like a jerk. I totally forgot about slimes not being able to swim, and now I've made Susie upset. 'There's got to be a way to fix this, but what?' I asked myself.

Then, an idea popped into my head. 'Yeah… that might work, if she's willing to try it.'

"Hey Susie, I got an idea." I said. She looked up, curious. "Since you're upset about not being able to swim…" I almost stopped when she looked as though she was about to cry. The wound was still wide open on that subject. I continued after regaining myself. " … how about I just teach you?"

Clearly she wasn't expecting that, as her eyes became wide with surprise. "You… you really would teach me?" she asked, hope in her voice.

"Why wouldn't I?" I said. I would have said more, but suddenly she ran to me and hugged me, sobbing a little. I embraced her back, saying, "Hey, don't cry. It's nothing to be ashamed about, getting taught how to swim."

After a solid minute, she finally was ready to learn. She changed her outfit again, this time to a swimsuit, one that looked perfect for her. It was one of those ones that cover the whole body rather than just the private bits, but it still suited her all the same.

I stepped into the water without hesitation, but Susie was scared. "Come on Susie! I picked the shallow end for a reason!" True to my word, I had picked a small patch where the water was only one block deep. No way she could sink in this.

Hesitantly, she stepped down. I gave her a moment to get used to the shallow water.

"Okay, now, come over here." I called. She looked over to where I was. I was standing at where the shallows ended to become two deep. She slowly came over to me.

"Okay, so, you have to understand that I'm going to be right here for this part." I started. She didn't look all that thrilled, but she had gotten this far already. "What we are going to do is practice floating."

I demonstrated how to do that by kicking my legs in quick but broad movements. She seemed to understand, so I let her have a try. I grabbed her hand as she stepped down further, very afraid. I helped her stay afloat for a minute, before telling her that I was about to let go.

"O-okay…" she stuttered, unsure of how well this would work. I let go and quickly backed off a short bit. She seemed a bit shaky, and her movements were a bit too jagged, a bit too forced. But she did stay above water.

"Okay, not too shabby for a first try!" I said, happily. I helped her move back to the shallows. For a while, we worked on her technique, until she was able to gently float and slightly move with just her legs.

"You're going really good for the first time learning!" I said. She looked amazed at herself.

"If you think that this is a huge improvement, just you wait. You'll be amazing at this after some time." I said.

"You… you really think so?" she asked.

"I don't just think. I know." I said, my voice confident.

After a brief rest, I taught her a few other things that I knew, like the basic breaststroke and and sidestroke. I also told her what to do if she starts to feel like she is sinking.

"Watch." I said. I moved out to a slightly deeper area. "So, say you're out here, and suddenly, you start to sink." I sank slowly, but not to much, as to not scare her.

I relaxed myself, and let myself loosen up. Gently I rose, floating on my back. "This is perfect if you feel like you're sinking or if you get tired but still need to swim somewhere." I said. I gently kicked my legs and used my arms as oars to return back to the shallows.

"You getting all of this?" I asked, thinking I was telling her so much so fast. She nodded. "Okay good, let's see if you got it all down again…"

 _30 minutes later…_

'Okay, I think she has it down pretty well. But there's only one way to know for sure.' I thought. I did some calculating in my head, and made a small course for her to try and complete.

"Okay, Susie, I think you have the basics down pretty well, so let's try a little course, okay?" I asked. She nodded, determined to get this right and prove to me that she could do this.

"It's simple: you start at the edge of the shallows. When I say 'Go', you first overhand your way to the left edge of the lake and…" I grabbed a few torches that I had in my bag, something I took with me just in case I wanted to mark the way here from the house.

"Once you get there, remove the torch. Then, side stroke your way to the far side, and break the torch there. Then, for your final part…"

I paused, suddenly unsure if this was the best of ideas. I mean, the other two were okay, but the last idea might be a bit much for her at this time. Nevertheless, I continued.

"Sorry, just thinking. Anyway, the final part requires you to swim on your back all the way back to where you started. I'll be close by the entire time, to make sure you're safe, okay?"

"I… I think so…" Susie said. She looked both ready and afraid at the same time. I comforted her by wrapping an arm around her.

"Look, don't be afraid. Look at how far you've come in such a short time! You're doing much better than I even expected. Now, I want you to be able to prove to me that you can do this." I said, encouragingly.

She looked at me, and her face slowly turned into one of determination, hope. "You're right. I'll… I'll do it, and… I'll prove to you what I can do."

I quickly got out of the lake and placed the torches down where I had specified, then returned to Susie. "Okay, ready?" I asked. She nodded.

"Alright, then begin in three… two… one… GO!" I shouted.

She took off and started heading to the first torch. She seemed to be doing okay, but still a little bit afraid, which was understandable.

She quickly reached the first torch and broke it. "Okay, now sidestroke to the second one!" I called out. She quickly nodded, and once again took off, swimming very fast for someone who just learned how to swim. I looked at her face, and I saw… no fear. Just hope.

After three minutes from starting, (She WAS still a beginner.) she reached and broke the second torch. Now, the only thing left was the backstroke across the entire lake. I started to get nervous at this point.

"Hey Susie! You can back out at any time if you get too afraid. I'll understand." I called to her. She looked at me, knowing full well what she had to do next…

And she wasn't afraid. She looked like someone who wanted to prove herself. "Don't worry Cameron. I can do this." she said. I nodded, saying, "Okay, well, go when ready."

She didn't even hesitate. The second I stopped talking, she flipped over and started to move across the lake, using the backstroke. This was the point where her fears would biggest. The lake was a good seven blocks deep at the middle, so I had to keep my eyes on her at all times to make sure she stayed up.

She was almost all the way across by now. Only about ten more strokes and she would be at the end. But I could tell she was getting tired, as her movements were getting slower. I shouted out, "Come on Susie! You're only a few blocks away from me! Push through!"

My words seemed to invigorate her, and she picked it up just enough to finish the course. She flipped back over and sat down at the edge of the shallows, panting a little bit. I swam over to her with a big smile, saying, "Hello miss Susie! How does it feel to be one of the first slimes to ever swim?"

She looked up. Though she did seem a bit drained, she swam over to me and hugged me. For a while, we floated in the water, hugging. She was so happy that she was at a loss for words. I heard her say gently, "I… I'm so happy! Thank you Cameron!"

"Heh, wouldn't have it any other way." I said, before kissing her. We said nothing else for quite some time. We just enjoyed this moment together.

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but apparently, while we were distracted, we drifted around until we were in the center of the water. But neither of us realized that until we pulled away.

"Oh, when did we get here?" I said, genuinely surprised. Susie looked around as well. I saw fear slowly build again as she realized where she was.

"Susie? Calm down." I said, holding her to make sure she wouldn't sink. She calmed a little, and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm… I'm okay. Just some nerves came back to me." she said. We both swam back over to the water's edge and got out, both of us rather exhausted I might add.

"Well, I think that today was pretty fun. Don't you?" I asked, sitting down on a towel I laid out for me. She sat down on hers and replied. "Yeah… today… today was fun. I didn't think I would but…"

"Turned out better than you thought huh?" I said, a grin on my face. She smirked at me, saying, "Yeah, it really did." She scooted closer to me, and pulled me in a hug again. We were both still soaked from the water, but right now, I don't think either of us cared.

After about a minute or two, she pulled away and stood up. "Sooo, what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"I think we should head back to be honest. It'll be getting dark soon." I said, seeing the sun closing in on the horizon. 'Damn, how long were we out here?' I thought.

We slowly packed up, and Susie changed back to her costume. "You really take this promise seriously, you know that?" I said, as we started to head back.

She giggled a little before saying, "You know you like it…" She leaned closer to my ear, whispering, "Master Cameron."

'Master Cameron.' I thought. 'That's a new one… I kinda like it.'

We headed back to the house. I don't know about Susie, but I was kinda hoping that it would stay hot again tomorrow so that we could go back if we wanted to.

But we would get a big surprise when we arrived back home.

 _Third person POV…_

 _Just after Cameron and Susie left the lake behind…_

About two hundred blocks in front of the house, a figure emerged from the nearby woods. It glanced around, looking for something, whatever that was.

It didn't see anything of note, so it turned around and let out a loud howl. About ten more figures came running to the first. In the light of the setting sun, the figures turned out to be…

Wolves.

They started to move, but then a sharp yip came from the forest they came from. Out popped another figure, but this one was definitely human. It wore a hood, which was attached to a cape of some kind, so the person looked like a hooded superhero. Two strings tied together kept the cloth from billowing out everywhere.

The entire pack seemed to roll their eyes in usion as the person tripped over a small tree root on the way out. She stood right back up, as if she was used to tripping all the time.

"S-sorry, I got a bit caught up back there." said the person. It was a girl, and her voice was a bit on the higher pitched side.

One wolf barked twice. The person responded, "I got distracted by… sigh… that thing again." This got rather angry looks from the other wolves. "Sorry…"

The same wolf, who must have been the pack leader, snarled, making the girl take a small step back. "I'm sorry! I can't help it!"

The leader shook his head a little, out of disbelief. But while he was shaking, he noticed the house off in the distance. Suddenly, a plan formed in his mind. He barked once, and used his snout to point toward the house. The girl looked over at it.

"Are you sure? What if someone's living there?" she said, her voice shaking the smallest bit. The leader barked once more. "O-okay, I'll check if there's food… stay right here, okay? I won't be long." The leader nodded, so the girl ran off toward the house. But the second she was out of sight and earshot, the leader snarled to the others, and quickly made a gesture that said, "Let's go, now!"

The others didn't need to be told twice. They ran into the woods as fast as they could, and tried to put as much distance between them and the girl as possible.

Turns out, this act of betrayal would be better off for both the pack and the girl. It would just take some time…

 **Well, I think that just about wraps up this chapter. It had a little bit of everything: Maids, swimsuit fetish, 'Master' fetish, and probably a bunch of other things that you people would like, or a least, I HOPE you did.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for reading this chapter! I want to thank all of you wonderful people for sticking with me these past few days. I'm sorry I couldn't get the chapter out sooner, but I gotta work with what time I'm given to work on this story.**

 **But, I do have some bad news though. See, I have some major projects I need to work on for school the day I post this. If I keep procrastinating like I have, I'll more than likely fail a class or two by the end of the semester. I'm not blaming the story or you guys in any way, I just like to be lazy sometimes. (Okay, all the time.)**

 **So what this means is, I wouldn't expect a chapter out for at least a while. I'll give it at least two weeks tops, and then I should have a chapter out by then. Hopefully earlier, but who knows? We'll just have to see.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your MC username, what time, and what server. If I'm not busy, I'll take some time to play. I always love to play MC with other people. Until next time guys, stay awesome.**


	15. A New Friend

****What is up my awesome followers! It's everyone's favorite (and only!) ButterHunter here, back with the next chapter in my fanfic! I sincerely hope all of you people really enjoy this story, and how it's playing out thus far. Don't worry, we have a LONG way to go before I reach the end. I have many ideas on how to make this work.****

 ** **Anyway, why am I still rambling on about stuff you guys obviously know by now? Let's jump right back in.****

Chapter 15: A New Friend

 _Third person POV…_

The hooded girl managed to run over to the house pretty fast. She tried to open the door, but found it to be locked. She looked around a bit, and found a slightly open window in the back of the house. Looking through it, she said that it was a well kept bedroom. 'Wonder where whoever lives here is. Oh well, I need to get the pack some food.' she thought.

She opened the window slowly and, after seeing no one inside, climbed in and promptly fell face first on the bed.

Regaining herself, she closed the window and then walked carefully over to the door and opened it a crack. No one in sight. She pushed it open all the way. Still no one.

Nervous, she went behind the counter and looked through an ice chest, hoping a few steaks or other snacks were inside.

But she must have forgotten that people still lived in this house. As when she heard two people talking, getting closer, she started to panic. Quickly, she put everything back where it had been and looked for a place to hide.

"There!" she said quietly. She ran over and slid underneath a bed in the main room. She tried to stay quiet as possible.

Not even two seconds later, the handle shook a little, and then the door opened up. She couldn't see exactly, but it looked like two people had stepped in.

One voice spoke, "Well, I think we should get started on dinner. What do you want to have?" The voice was a girl's voice.

"I don't know. Surprise me." another voice replied, this one male. The hooded girl tried to piece together who's voice belonged to who.

"All right, I'll get started." the female voice said again, before one pair of legs moved to behind the counter. 'Well, that sorts out that issue.' she said, but then realized how screwed she was again.

"I'll be in the back for a minute Susie. Gonna take a shower real quick." the man's voice said again, before the other pair of legs walked over and went back to the bedroom. Before long, the sound of running water was heard.

'Oh shit. I'm so screwed. I gotta get out of here somehow!' the hooded girl thought.

The pair of legs behind the counter, who the hooded girl assumed was called Susie, kept messing around in the kitchen area. A minute passed, and the sound of sizzling steak was heard. Not to mention the smell, as it quickly fill the whole house with the great smell of steak cooking. The girl started to get very hungry, but she needed to worry about getting out before she was discovered.

Then she remembered: she could get out the same way she got in. She just had to run to the other door, which was still open a bit, and climb out the window. 'Hopefully that other guy doesn't come out anytime soon.' she thought.

But first, she had to play the waiting game. She needed to go when Susie wasn't looking, and be FAST about it. So, steeling herself, she waited. A minute passed. Then two. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay hidden. The steak was starting to overpower her, and she LONGED to run out, grab it, and book it. But she resisted.

Then, she saw Susie moving again. She moved to the front door, and seemed to look out one of the windows of it. This was her chance!

Quietly, she poked her out of her hiding spot, to see that Susie was… 'A… a slime?' Odd… but she had no time to ponder that. Susie was distracted, and she had a chance to escape!

In one quick but quiet movement, the hooded girl ran out from her cover and dashed into the bedroom. She hid behind the wall next to the door, in case Susie got curious about what had happened. Nothing happened, so the girl risked it and looked out behind the wall.

Susie was still in the exact same position. She hadn't even noticed. Backing off, the hooded girl breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly backed away from the door, so happy to have gotten away scott-free.

But she definitely forgot about the man in the bathroom. Because she backed up right into him. His back had also been turned, and they both bumped into each other.

"Eep!" the girl squeaked. She suddenly realized there was no sound of falling water. For a second, all was still. Then, slowly, both started to around to face each other.

And…

 _Cameron POV…_

I had just been taking a nice shower, and after getting dressed again, looked out the window to see what it looked like out there.

Then, someone bumped into my back. At first, I thought it was Susie, but when I heard an "Eep!", I knew that this person was new. Slowly, I started to turn.

Then I saw who bumped into me. It was a small person, wearing a hood. It was a girl, and the look on her face told me that she was completely terrified.

A few seconds passed, and then everything processed for both of us. She started to shake really badly, backing off slowly. But she seemed to think that she was trapped.

At first, I didn't know how to react. How should I react in this kind of scenario?

"Umm…" I said, trying to say something, but the girl took it the wrong way. She kept backing up slowly, until she hit the wall. I stepped closer, trying to defuse the situation.

"I…" I tried again, but this time the girl was too scared of me, so she tried to bolt behind me. I grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her, and started to drag her back to the other room.

"Stay STILL!" I nearly shouted, just after I got out the door. Susie looked up from whatever she was doing. She was just as surprised as I was to see another person in this house.

"Who is… What is…" Susie tried to asked, but she realized I was having a hard time keeping this girl from bolting.

"Please… please let me go!" the girl said weakly, still struggling. I didn't, instead continued to drag her over to a chair and held her down.

"Susie! A little help?!" I called. Susie snapped back, and ran over with some rope, just like when Paige had rushed me.

A few minutes later, we had tied the newcomer to the chair. We backed off for a moment, panting a little. She put up a good fight trying not to get tied up. But now all she could do was struggle against the bonds.

"No…" she said weakly. Her voice, though it was very shaky, was a bit on the higher pitched side. She continued to struggle, even though it was pointless.

Me and Susie looked at each other, trying to silently decide what we should do. Obviously she didn't mean to harm us, as she tried to run away when I saw her.

The girl seemed rather uncomfortable in the chair, even though it was padded. She kept on squirming, as if trying to adjust her position or something.

I decided to question her, try and get something out of her. I walked over and tried to get her attention.

"Ahem." I said. She looked up. It was at that point that I truly noticed her face. What hair I could see, it was as white as snow. She had rather small features, but what really caught my attention was her eyes. They were chocolate brown in color, and so _big._ Her eyes were so clear. For a moment, I forgot what I was talking about.

Then I remembered, and snapped back to reality. I glanced over at Susie, and was surprised to see that she was blinking as well. As if she was caught off guard as well.

"A-anyway, who are you and what are you doing in our house?" I said, trying to regain myself. The girl just… blinked. She didn't say anything.

"Hello?" I said, waving a hand in front of her face. She kept blinking. "Umm… do you understand me?"

The girl nodded, confirming that she understood me, but I was still confused. "Well, then… what's your name?"

She still blinked. I was getting a bit miffed. "Well? Your name?"

Still no response. "Come on, give me your name!" I said, my voice getting slightly annoyed.

"Cameron! Don't yell at her like that. You're scaring her." Susie said, scolding me.

I didn't realize it, but now I saw that looked at her again, she was shaking a little bit. "Oh…" I said quietly.

"Here, I'll take over." Susie said, stepping up to the girl.

"Hi there… are you okay? Are you scared?" she said, talking gently. The girl said nothing, but she seemed to visibly relax a bit with Susie's words. She nodded slowly, to both questions I assumed.

"It okay, we won't hurt you, we just want some answers. Okay? Can you do that for me?" Susie said. The girl nodded again, more calm, but still struggling against the rope.

"Untie her Cameron." Susie told me. I gave her a look that said, 'What?!' She returned it with one that said, 'Do it, pleeeeaaassse?' I sighed. I moved around the back of the chair and quickly undid the knots.

I could tell the girl wanted to bolt now that she was free, but she didn't. I wondered what she was thinking right now. Probably, 'Okay, I'm free but… what do they want from me?'

"So, can you speak?" Susie asked. The girl nodded, which seemed redundant to me. 'If you can, say 'yes' rather than nod.' I thought irritably.

But Susie was much more patient. She said, "Well then, will you tell us your name please?"

But this time, the girl shook her head. Susie and me were both surprised at this. "Why not?" we both asked at the same time.

The girl thought for a second, before she finally answered with words. She said, in a very soft voice, "Be… because… I don't… have one…"

Me and Susie were taken back by this. 'What person doesn't have a name?' was my thought. But I didn't mull on that for long, because suddenly, the newcomer sniffled, and looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey, it's okay…" I said, putting a hand on her shoulder tentatively. She glanced at it, but didn't move it away. She sniffled once more, before I saw a tear form in her eyes.

I don't know what was happening, but this girl was causing me to get sad as well. I wanted to do anything to get this girl to not cry. I caught myself thinking I'd bend backwards to get her to not cry. 'What is happening? How is she doing that?' I thought.

I glanced over at Susie, and she seemed to be getting affected as well. "No no no, don't cry, don't cry…" she said. The newcomer blinked the tears away, and tried to recover herself.

"I'm okay, I'm… I'm fine…" she said. I couldn't help but think about her voice, how higher pitched it was.

"Then, can you tell us why you were in our house, and how you got in anyway?" I said. The girl seemed a bit uncomfortable with all the questions.

"Um… I was told… to get food… from here…" she said. 'What's with all of the pauses? Does she not speak English much or something?' I thought.

"Who told you to do that?" Susie asked. Now the girl looked really uncomfortable, and I noticed that she tugged a little on her hood, making sure it was up or something.

"Umm… I'd rather not say…" she said. Susie nodded, dropping the question. "But, I got in… through the window… back there." she said, pointing. I realized Susie opened that window to let air curulate when it was hot outside.

"Oh…" Susie said, realizing what I put together as well. We looked at each other, thinking.

"So, um… can I go?" the girl said hopefully, standing up and moving to the front door. Once again, she tugged at her hood. I got rather curious about that.

"Hold on. One more question." I said, blocking the door. The girl looked nervous. "Why are you wearing that hood?" I asked.

She apparently really did not want to answer that question. "Ummm…. nothing I just… wear it because… um, I like it…" she said, her eyes darting around a little bit. Susie caught this as well.

"Then, would you take it off?" she asked. The girl's eyes widened a little bit. "Oh, umm… sorry but, I don't… like to take it off…" she said, backing off from us a small bit.

"Why not?" I said, stepping closer. My hand slowly reached behind me. The girl didn't notice, she was too busy looking for a way out of this mess. "Oh, well, because… um…" she stuttered, backing up even more.

I glanced over at Susie, who knew what I was doing. Under different circumstances, she would tell me not to, but this time, she nodded, curious about where this was going.

"You don't like giving away your secrets huh?" I said, my hand grabbing what was looking for. The girl backed up more, saying, "Um, yeah, I like… having my secrets…"

"Well, I think…" I paused, quickly pulling out my bow, arrow notched. "...that it would be in your best interest to answer."

The girl's eyes were wide with shock at this point. She said, "Y-y-you wouldn't… s-s-shoot me… w-would you?" In response, I pulled back the string.

"Do as I say. Pull your hood down. NOW!" I said, taking aim. The girl was starting to panic, but she ran out of room to back up. She trapped herself in a corner. She looked over at Susie, begging her to stop me with her eyes.

"Now!" I said. The girl tried once more, looking at Susie. I looked over, and saw Susie was breaking down. "Susie! Focus!" I shouted. She snapped back to reality, and said, "Sorry miss, but I'm curious as well. Just put your hood down, and he won't shoot."

The girl knew how screwed she was. So she started to reach for the strap around her waist, keeping the cape up. But just before she grabbed it, she did a pretty ballsy move.

And rushed me.

I just then saw how sharp her nails looked. Luckily, I had plenty of experience with fighting, and stepsided her. I threw my bow of to the side, and drew my sword.

She whipped around, and I saw… her eyes changed. They were now red. A deep blood red. She ran at me, but I blocked, her nails hiting my sword.

"Cameron!" Susie yelled, running to help. I shouted, "No, Susie! I got this one!" I swiped at her, but this girl must have fought people as well, because she ducked under.

For a few minutes, we parried back and forth, both of us dodging each other's attacks. But then I saw something. She was getting tired fast. I hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

I rushed her, and aimed a blow to the stomach with my sword hilt. She dodged, but barely. She was really losing energy now. Her attacks were sluggish, and she was panting a lot.

'Now's my chance!' I thought, and swiped. But instead of a direct hit, I slashed at the strap on her waist. The sword caught and cut it, causing the hood and cape to quickly fly off, and the girl suddenly lost all anger. She cowered on the ground, hands over her head. 'She's hiding something, and she really doesn't want us to know what.' I thought, sheathing my sword.

"Cameron! Are you okay?!" Susie said, rushing over to me. "Yeah, I'm fine. Now, let's get some answers from her." I said, approaching the girl on the floor.

"Are you ready to show us now? Or do you want to fight again?" I said. The girl said nothing. Without her cape, I could see her outfit, which was a small fur coat, white in color, and some shorts that also looked like they were made a fur as well. Her hair was rather long, it looked like that it would reach past her waist if she stood up.

The girl, who knew she couldn't hide it anymore, slowly nodded. Slowly, she stood up, and even more slowly, put down her hands down. What I saw shocked me. Now I knew why she tried to hard to hide herself.

'Sharp nails, good fighter, white almost everywhere, high pitched voice… now it makes sense.' I thought, my eyes getting bigger.

On the top of her head, two wolf ears, just as white as her hair, poked out. Even more surprising, the way she was standing, I could see a white tail poking out of of her backside, out of a very small hole in the top of her shorts.

"There. Now you two know… what I am. I'm… I'm a freak… a wolf that looks like a human… I… I hope you're happy…" she said, a tear streaking down her face. She didn't look like someone who was just putting up a good fight. She looked… helpless. Afraid. I… I felt like a jerk again.

"Oh my Notch…" Susie said quietly. For a moment, no one said anything.

"I'm… I'm so sorry… I had no idea how much you…" I said, trying to apologize. But she gave me a look full of anger. Without warning, she ran at me, and tackled me, knocking me over. I was caught off guard.

"You should be sorry!" she yelled, eyes red again. "You nearly killed me! You ruined everything for me! This was my biggest secret! No one ever knew about what I am! Only my pack knew! Then you come along and… and…" slowly, her talking came to a halt.

"I'm… all I can say is… I'm sorry." I said. For a second, no one did anything. Susie seemed afraid to get close, I guess she thought she would get me hurt if she tried to intervene.

Then, tears welled up in the wolf girl's eyes. She tried to fight it, but broke down, and started to cry. She rolled off of me, and she wept into her hands. I sat up, and stared at the girl. I glanced at Susie. She looked at me as well.

Then, Susie walked over to the girl. "Hey… it's okay… please don't cry…" she said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl looked up, and raised her hand to move it, but I stopped it, and put a hand on her other shoulder.

"Yeah… I'm sorry… I'll never do that again…" I said, genuinely sorry for this poor girl. She looked at both of us, not sure what to do. Then, her emotions got the better of her, and she started crying again.

For a while, me and Susie comforted this girl. We felt so sorry for what we did, causing her so much sadness. All over a simple hood.

Finally, she stopped crying, and just tried to relaxed for a minute. I looked down at my watch, wondering what time it was.

 _7:00 pm._

"Hmmm… it's getting late…" I said. The wolf girl looked up, and looked at my watch. Her eyes got wide at that.

"Oh no! I've been gone from the pack for so long! They might think I'm dead! I gotta go!" she said, instantly standing up.

"Wait!" I said, just before she got to the door. She turned, and looked at me with curiosity. I had a quick, whispered conversation with Susie, and a minute later, I had a bag filled with some meat and other foods for her and her pack.

"Here. Take this as an apology for everything that happened." I said, handing her the bag. She was surprised at our kindness. "You… you're giving me this… even after I attacked you?" she asked.

"Well, to be fair, I kinda put it on myself. I want to fix the wrongs we did. This should be enough for a while, right?" I said.

"Yes… Thank you… both of you…" she said, unable to believe that we would be so kind. Then, she remembered her pack. "Oh, I… I gotta go… bye… Mister…Ma'am…" she said, before, bag and what was left of her hood in hand, ran out the door and into the darkening sky.

For a minute, me and Susie just stared at where she had disappeared. I couldn't help but still feel a bit guilty about what happened.

"Well… that was certainly… interesting." Susie said, breaking the silence. I nodded.

Little did we know, just how 'interesting' things were going to get.

 _Two days later…_

 _12:00 pm..._

"Well, finally got the spare bedroom done…" I said.

It took us awhile, but we finally got the stairway done, so now all we had to do was actually decide what room goes where. We had a few ideas, but first on the list was a guest bedroom. Susie said she had some friends that came over from time to time, so having a room for them to sleep in was important. I just hoped these friend also didn't mind humans, or else bad things might happen.

Anyway, we put the normal things in the spare bedroom, like a bed, a lamp or two, and some small decor on the walls and dresser. When we had finished, it looked pretty cozy, perfect for a guest to spend the night.

Once we had finished, we sat down and started to eat some lunch. I was just thinking how much else we had planned, like relocating the sickbed area, when a knock was heard. At first, I dismissed it, thinking I misheard something, but then it knocked again.

I knew what to do. I walked over to the bedroom and hide behind the wall, so that Susie could check who was out there, then relay to me about how long I would have to stay back there.

But this time, things turned differently than before. Because I heard her opening the door and heard her say, "Hello how can I… Cameron!" I peeked out behind the wall. Susie was waving her hand in a 'come here!' gesture.

I went over and saw who was at the door. I froze. There, standing at the doorstep, was the same wolf girl from before. She gave me a feeble smile before saying, "Um, hey… can I come in?" I glanced over at Susie and we both made a split second decision to let her in.

She walked over and looked at us, her eyes telling us that something wasn't right today. I broke the silence by asking, "Sooo, whatcha doing back here? Aren't you supposed to be with your pack?"

She looked at me, but not with hate, with sadness. "I would… if they… hadn't…" she started to tear up, trying to complete her thoughts.

"If they hadn't… what?" I asked. She looked at me, and for a second, I saw… desperation. She wanted comfort.

"If they hadn't… abandoned me…" she said, before losing control. She broke down, dashing down toward me, and hugging me. For a moment, I was surprised at her sudden reaction. But after a quick glance at Susie, I returned the hug, gently rubbing her back, saying, "It's okay, you're here now. Shh…"

After about a minute of crying, she pulled away from me, saying, "Thank you… Cameron, right? Thank you. I'm sorry to be… a bother for you. You too Susie."

"You aren't bothering us." Susie said. "Yeah, it's fine." I added.

"Really?" the girl asked. We both nodded, before she wanted another comfort hug. This time Susie got in on the hug as well, so it was just the three of us hugging for some time.

When we did break apart, I asked what the girl planned on doing next. She seemed sad to think about that.

"I… I don't know… I guess I'll just… travel around… look for a place to call home… in a town or something." she said, her voice sad. Her ears were drooping down, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. 'She going through almost exactly what I when through. Alone, helpless, searching for something, anything, to become happy again.' I thought.

Suddenly, I got an idea. It was crazy, probably insane, but I still wanted to do something.

"Excuse me for a sec. Susie, come over here…" I said, pulling Susie over to the living area. Both girls looked confused. "What are you doing?" Susie asked me.

"Okay, I got an idea. It's kinda crazy, but still." I said, my voice a whisper. "I think of her story kinda like mine. She's alone, scared, and has no shoulder to lean on."

"Okay, so?" Susie said in the same whisper.

"So, let's let her stay here. No one deserves to be all alone, especially out there." I said. At first, Susie looked surprised, but slowly, she seemed to get my idea, and was even happy that I was thinking of her, trying to make her life better.

We walked back over to her. "Okay, so, listen, I don't think you should have been abandoned like that. No one should. So, I have an idea that I think you'll like."

The girl looked curious. "If you wanted too…" I glanced at Susie one last time. She nodded. "We would be okay with you stay here. With us."

That caught her off guard. She blinked, as if not sure she heard me correctly. Then, she looked hopeful. "You… You really would let me stay here? Even after all I did?"

I nodded, and I could tell, she was beyond happy. The fact that someone else, no, the fact that TWO people cared about her, was enough to make her tear up again. And once again, she needed a hug, so I returned it, and I could see that her tail was wagging very fast, in a typical happy dog manner.

 _Few hours later…_

We had dinner, but this time was special, as now we had another person dining with us. At first, things were a little crazy, and we had to teach her a lot of things, like proper table manners and other things, but I think she understood more or less all of it.

Afterward, we needed a place for her to sleep, so we gave her the guest bedroom. We would be building more rooms later on, so we could afford to give up one.

Afterward, I was helping her get settled into her room, when I realized something. "Your pack… they never gave you a name?"

She shook her head. "No, if someone needed me, they would just bark, and I would know that they wanted me, not someone else." I realized how much better at speaking she was getting. 'Guess that's something we don't need to work on.' I thought.

"Well, we can't have you just living here with no name. That'd be awkward. You wanna help me come up with one?" I asked. She nodded happily. 'Dang, just a few times meeting each other, and she goes from scared to angry to sad to happy. That's kinda impressive.' I thought.

For a few minutes, we tried to come up with something. We tried a bunch of names, but nothing really seemed to click with her. Then, after thinking about it, I came up with one that she might like.

"How about Snowy?" I asked. "Why that?" she asked, curious.

"Well, think about it. You're tough, you fight for yourself, but really, you are kind at the heart. Just like snow, it's tough, and can be rough if it wants, but at the core, it's a source of some good times." I explained.

She thought about it for a few seconds. I saw her quietly saying it to herself, thinking hard about it.

Then she looked up, and gave me a smile. "I think we found a winner." I said, returning the smile.

She walked over to me, and gave me yet another hug. 'Damn, this girl is friendly.' I thought.

"Heh…" the newly named Snowy giggled. "What?" I asked.

"Since I have someone that cares so much about me…" she started. "I guess that makes you my master now, huh?"

"Master, huh?" I said. It gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, it did kind of make sense, since I let her stay her with me and Susie. And I guess I did have a lot of influence on her. But at the same time, 'Master' made me feel like I was more important that her, like she was nothing but a simple pet to me. That didn't sit well with me.

"Thank you. For… everything… Master." Snowy said, hugging me. I was still mulling over the whole 'Master' thing, but I guess if she thought it best to call me that, then so be it. 'I'll probably get used to it. It's just a matter of time.'

So ended the first day of our new guest… no, I guess not 'guest'. More like, a new friend. I just wondered how much things would be different, now that there were three people in this house.

My thoughts were, 'Well, whatever happened, I'll get through it. And now, I have even more people to be with. To confide in. To just have fun with. I can't wait!'

But later, one last big thought ran through my mind: 'What is Snowy gonna think about me and Susie being together?'

I would find this out much sooner than I would have liked to.

 ** **Well, I think that that wraps up chapter 15 nicely. A new friend has emerged! I just hope that dear Cameron will be able to control himself.****

 ** **Anyways, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I said this wouldn't be out for much longer, buuuuuuut, YOLO. I just want to get this story rolling, as to keep all of you awesome son of a guns happy. Or trolled. Depends on how I feel.****

 ** **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your Minecraft username, what server, and when, and I'll try to reply back. Also, I can't believe I haven't said this yet, but I recently got a Wii U, and with it I got a bunch of games, including Super Mario Maker and Smash. (Yes, I like Nintendo, don't judge me!) So if you guys are interested in that, PM me with any questions you have, and I'll try to answer, and who know? Maybe I can go toe to toe with you guys on Smash, or try out some Mario levels you've created.****

 ** **But until then, I hope all of you have a great day, (or night, whenever you're reading this.) and until next time, stay awesome.****


	16. Snowy's Reaction

**What is up all of you awesome readers! It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter, yada yada yada, let's go already!**

Chapter 16: Snowy's Reaction

 _10:00 am the next day…_

"Hm…" I sighed, my eyes still closed. I REALLY didn't want to get up now. I had such a good dream. Something about how I had made another friend, this one a wolf girl. 'Eh, just a dream.' I thought.

After a second, I began to feel as though someone was watching me. I tried to dismiss it as nothing, but I couldn't shake this feeling. Then, I felt something touch my arm. I say touch, but it was more like barely grazed my arm. 'What was that?' I thought.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. For a second, all I could see was bit of white and brown. Then my eyes adjusted. I nearly shouted out in surprise, but I bit my tongue. Good thing too, or else I would have shouted so loud the heavens would hear.

Looking down at me, a wolf girl was looking down right in my face. I was confused and surprised for a second, but then everything that had happened yesterday came back to me.

"S-Snowy? What are you doing?" I asked, surprised.

"Waiting until you woke up." she replied. She was on all fours, her face very close to mine. Her tail starts wagging happily now that I was awake.

"W-well, can you let me get up now?" I asked, a bit uncomfortable with her so close to my face. She looked the smallest bit downtrodden, but she did get off of me, and waited for me to get dressed.

The second I stepped out of the bathroom, Snowy, who was sitting on the bed, jumped up and walked over to me. "Master, I'm hungry. When's breakfast?"

"Let's go find out." I said, going to the door. Just as I thought, Susie was behind the counter, making bacon and eggs.

"Morning Susie!" I said. She turned and smiled at me.

"Good morning Cameron." Susie said warmly. "Good morning to you as well Snowy."

"Already told her your new name, eh?" I asked Snowy. The wolf girl smiled, blushing a little.

"Anyway, is breakfast ready? I'm starving." I asked, my stomach growling lightly for emphasis.

"Yep, grab a seat." Susie said, placing the food on the counter and moving to a chair. Me and Snowy followed suit.

About half way into the meal, I looked over and saw Snowy picking at her eggs and biscuit. 'Oh right, I guess she never really had much of anything but meat with her pack.' I realized.

"Just try it Snowy. It's good stuff, I promise." I told her. She looked at me, and poked her eggs one more time with her fork before taking a bite. I guess she thought it was pretty good, because she stopped picking at it so she could actually eat.

"Told ya." I said. "Meat isn't the only good food out there." She replied with a small smile.

About two or three minutes, our plates were clean. I sat back for a second, saying, "Delicious as always Susie. I really gotta start making it up to you for a change."

Susie grinned at me. "I look forward to that." she said.

Cleanup was much faster than normal, mostly due to us having another helper. Snowy only got distracted once, by the plate Susie placed the bacon on. She almost tried to start licking it clean, but I caught her. Embarrassed, she put the plate in the sink and continued to clean up.

After we had finished, the three of us debated on what we should do today. We had several ideas, but after a while, we just decided to relax in the living room and have everyone get to know each other a little better. Mostly, this was for Snowy to get more info on us, and for me and Susie to get more info on her.

But I realized quickly that we didn't have enough chairs to fit everyone. So I went and dragged a chair over from the counter, just until I got around to making one for Snowy.

"Here Snowy, I got you a chair." I said, putting it next to mine and Susie's. I sat down, and so did Susie. Snowy, however, looked at the chair, and I guess she didn't want to sit in it, because she turned right around and asked if she could sit with me instead.

"Oh, ummm…" I said, caught off guard by this. I glanced over at Susie, who shrugged. After a second of thinking, I said, "I guess… if you want to." Snowy instantly sat down next to me. 'She's very… forward about what she wants, huh?' I thought.

I tried to relax, but Snowy wasn't making it very easy, as she started to hug me, and forced me to pay attention to her. I was getting a bit unnerved by her, umm… 'forwardness', I guess is the word. The fact that Susie was right there in front of me, seeing all of this, made everything ten times worse.

"Umm… Snowy?" I said, trying to say something to get back on track. She looked up at me. "We came in here to ask each other questions, right?"

"Oh, right!" she said, releasing me finally. "I just kinda… got carried away. Sorry…"

"It's fine." I said, glancing at Susie. Again, she just shrugged.

"So, what did you two want to know about me?" Snowy asked.

"Well, for starters, before you met us, what did you really do?" I asked.

Snowy glanced around a little bit, as if afraid to answer. "Umm… the pack doesn't like when I talk about what goes on there…"

"You're not a part of that pack anymore, are you?" Susie asked. But we both realized that that was a bad question, as Snowy started to tear up again. "Oh no, I did it again…" Susie said.

"Shh… hey, it's okay…" I said, quickly trying to comfort poor Snowy. Thankfully, she quickly regained herself.

"I'm… I'm fine. I know you meant nothing by it, Susie." she said. Susie said nothing, she just looked a bit sad that she made Snowy upset.

"A-anyway, I… really didn't have much to do. I was kinda that person that helps out where it's needed. But, I was… er, am, a clutz. I ended up most of the time messing up a simple job or something… I trip over almost everything, I get distracted easily… I hate that part of me. I don't want to be a clutz."

Me and Susie just blinked at Snowy. But she wasn't done yet. "I mean, it was bad enough when I was just a pup, but now, I'm almost an adult. And yet, at sixteen, I'm still getting distracted by a passing butterfly. It's… embarrassing. I… why can't I grow up…"

Snowy started to sniffle at this point. I gently wrapped an arm around her, saying, "Hey, shh… don't cry…"

After two minutes, Snowy regained herself again. "I'm… sorry… I've been too much of a crybaby these days…" she said. Her ears were drooping down again.

'Man, I'm getting nowhere with this…' I thought. However, I did learn a few things. For one, she said she is sixteen, same as me and Susie. Meaning she must age like a human, not a wolf. Wolves live shorter lives than most creatures, I think. So if she aged by wolf years, she would be lucky to still be here today.

Second, she doesn't have much self confidence, probably as a result of her upbringing. Maybe living here will help her through all of that.

And finally, she doesn't like her pack too much, but she still respects them. I guess I could understand that.

I didn't want to put pressure on Snowy anymore. I looked over at Susie, and could see she was thinking the same thing. "I think now, Snowy, you should start asking us questions. For now at least." I said softly.

Snowy blinked once, then thought for a moment on what she wanted to ask. I wondered who her first question would be targeted at.

"Well, for starters, um… how do you two, a slime and a human, get along so well?" she asked.

'No beating around the bush here, just straight to the point.' I said, thinking that that was a bad starting question. 'Do we tell her?'

I glanced over at Susie, she was probably wondering the same things as well. 'Maybe… maybe if I don't talk about us being a couple, she won't question it. I just hope Susie will roll with me on this.' I thought.

"Well, it's a kinda long story. See, while I was out traveling, Susie found me almost dead next to a river, after I just crossed a massive desert." I started. Snowy was listening with intense concentration. Susie looked up at me, and I tried to convey my idea to her with my eyes.

"So then Susie took me in, and nursed me back to normal. I wanted to repay her, so I kinda just help out around here." I said. 'Short, simple, and to the point.' I thought. All of what I said was true, and I didn't bring up the couple part of our relationship.

"But… I thought slimes and humans didn't get along… I thought all monsters hated humans…" Snowy said slowly.

This time, Susie jumped in. "Not all of them do. Yes, a lot of monsters out there do. But there are some who believe that humans and monsters can get along. Like us. Whether or not that will happen… we just have to see."

Snowy nodded to herself at that. I flashed Susie a quick thumbs up. She smiled at me.

"Okay, but, why were you cross a desert in the first place Master?" Snowy asked me. She knew she had instantly asked a touchy subject, as I visibly tensed up about that. I knew instantly I couldn't tell her out of the blue why.

So I gave her the same excuse I had giving Susie when she asked that question. "Just traveling." I said. But Snowy wasn't convinced.

"Really?" she said, her voice curious.

"Yeah, just traveling." I replied, trying to close the subject. But Snowy wasn't about to let this go that easy.

"Are you lying to me Master?" she asked.

"No, why would I lie to you?" I denied.

"I feel you're leaving out something. Something I should know."

"I was traveling, trying to find somewhere to live. That's all."

"You say that, but I feel there's still more to the story."

"Why would you think that?"

"Why are you trying to dodge my questions?"

I looked over and saw Susie, her head turning as if me and Snowy were in a tennis match. 'Okay, this is getting out of hand. I need to get out of this somehow. The last thing I want to do is talk about my relationship with Susie, or worse, talk about what my life was like before.' I thought.

"Snowy, I'm not trying to dodge your questions. I just…" I started, but then Snowy did something. Her eyes looked like they grew even larger, and her face… her face changed to one of desperate pleading.

"Masterrrr… please tell me…" she said, her voice quivering. Her bottom lip trembled, and I swore tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. I couldn't help but say, "Aww… I mean… sigh… okay, fine… I'll… I'll tell."

Gently, Snowy hugged me. I glanced over at Susie again. Seems like she had gotten hit with the look as well. 'What was that? She just looks at me, and suddenly I can't say no? What the hell?' I thought.

When Snowy pulled away, I saw her eyes had returned to normal. "What… what was that?" I asked.

Snowy simply giggled. "I like to call it the 'Puppy Dog Eyes.' I've had it ever since I was young. That enough explaining for you?" she said.

'Of course. She has to have something to help her get exactly what she wants.' I thought sarcastically.

"Well… guess I have no choice…" I said, glancing over at Susie. The look on her eyes asked me, 'Are you sure you want to tell her?' I nodded, though somewhat reluctantly. She grimaced, before getting up, saying she needed to do something. She went outside, but not before giving me one last worried look.

"What was that about?" Snowy asked. I sighed, before reaching for my bag.

"I think she doesn't want to hear the story twice. Once was more than enough for her." I said.

"What do you mean?" Snowy asked. Instead, I once again reach in my bag and grab the photo.

 _About 20 to 30 minutes of talking, some tears, and a few hugs later…_

"Well, there you have it… see why I didn't want to tell you now?" I said, my voice shaking again. I had started to tear up again, but this time I was able to hold it back, and not bust out crying like I had with Susie.

Snowy was in complete shock. Here she was, upset that her clan had abandoned her, and now, the one person that took pity on her, revealed the whole story. My family had died years ago. I had carried so much pain and grief for years, and I had been as strong as I could. By myself. Alone.

"I… I don't know… what to say… other than… I'm so sorry… I made you tell me that…" Snowy said softly. I looked at her. She wasn't about to cry or anything, but she looked… ashamed. I guess she felt guilty for making me relive the past again.

"I… don't worry about it. I probably would have told you some other time anyway. Just… thank you for listening Snowy. I appreciate it." I said. Snowy looked up at me again.

"You… you appreciate me listening?" she asked.

I nodded, saying, "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" She thought on that for a second, before wrapping her arms around me again. After a second, I hugged her as well. For a good while, neither of us said anything, we just gently hug.

We pulled apart, and just then, Susie knocked and opened the door. Stepping in, she looked over at us. I said, "Perfect timing Susie. Just finished wrapping up my story." She said nothing, but walked over to me.

"Are you okay? I mean, you just relived your entire past again…" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. To be honest… I feel… better. I feel… like I'm not living back then anymore. Like I can… move on." I said, and it was true. I felt so much better, like I was grounded more in the present. Maybe now, I would finally be able to move on. All from just telling these two about it.

"You sure you're okay?" Susie asked one more time. I nodded, and she seemed to relax, if only a little. "Okay… okay, if you say so."

She hugs me, and I embrace her back. For a moment, nothing else matters. I'm feel… happy. There was no other words to describe it. I was finally, once and for all, in a place that would feel like home. And now I had two people who would be right there next to me.

I try to pull away, but she stops me for a second. She stares into my eyes. I gaze back, the room melting away from my vision. Another few seconds pass and we kiss. No matter how many times it happens, I always treasure these moments with Susie. It makes me feel… safe. Happy. Loved.

After a bit, we pull apart. I just stare into her eyes. She does the same thing. For a second, nothing could ruin this.

That's when reality gave us a slap to the face.

I had totally forgotten about Snowy, who was sitting right in front of us. But then, I realize our mistake. My eyes widen as I slowly look down and right. Susie looks confused at first, but she realized what was happening as well. For a moment, the three of us just stare at each other. Snowy looks shocked, Susie looks embarrassed, and I'm a mixture of the two.

Then Snowy speaks. "W-w-what? W-what did you two…" she started, but can't finish her thoughts.

"Ummm… I… well… see…" I start stammering. Susie says nothing, but she looks embarrassed as all hell.

"Y-you two… k-k-k-kissed!?" Snowy asked, still trying to figure out what is going on.

'Busted.' was my only thought at that point. I nodded, not meeting Snowy's eyes. Susie nodded as well. For a moment, no one spoke.

Then, I decided I better get talking. "Um… Snowy, you see… um… ugh, I was afraid of this…" The next few minutes were getting her up to speed on me and Susie, who joined in after I started explaining. We left out only one detail: that night a while back. There was no chance I would talk about that with anyone, other than Susie.

"So… is that why you stayed here? Because… you two love each other?" Snowy asked slowly. Susie and I both nodded. For a moment, Snowy didn't say anything. She just let the news sink in.

"Are you going to be okay Snowy?" I asked. She looked up, and after another second of thinking, gave me a small smile.

"Yeah… I'll be fine. Because…" she paused, before walking over to me and hugging me. "... no matter what, you'll still be my master to me." I was surprised by this, but eventually, I hugged her back. Susie smiled at us, before kissing me on the cheek.

'Whew… that could have been bad. Well, all's well that ends well, I guess. For now.' I was thinking.

 _One week later…_

When I had first lived here, it was always a weird feeling. I was in a new place, living a life I really never thought to be possible. But now, this house felt just as homey as my old one had been. Plus, those two… those two make everything better.

Snowy did take a while to get used to our lifestyle. Apparently, she never had the choice to make decisions for herself. She always had to be told what to do, when to do it, and how. Do this, don't do that, never try this… it was maddening to me. Something as simple as always getting up at a certain time was, at this point, crazy to me.

But she soon got used to it. Soon, she was almost like us manners-wise, and she was very curious about almost everything. Susie and I did set some small guidelines, like not touching Susie's medical supplies, but really, we gave her a lot of freedom, something that was very strange to her at first.

But she did always have one detail that never changed. She always wanted to be close to me. No matter what it was, where it was, or when, she wanted to be by my side. While this was a bit hard to get used to, I eventually came to accept it.

If there is one thing she doesn't like more than anything, it's being separated from me. The one time it happened, I went off on a mining trip. I had told Susie I would be gone for about two hours, but forgot about Snowy, who had been in her room at the time, taking a nap. Two hours later, I came back, and the SECOND the door closed, I turned and saw Snowy running full speed at me, jumping when she was five blocks away. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, Snowy hugging me, saying over and over how much she missed me and such. It took a good five minutes to get her off me, so I could sit down in a chair.

So from that point on, I made sure to tell her if was going somewhere. Most of the time, she asked to come along, and I did accept it most of the time.

She always said to me that I was her role model. That she trusted me above all others. That she'd do anything for me. And I mean ANYTHING. I told her to get me the pickaxe at the mine entrance, partly because I left my spare pick there, and partly because I didn't believe her, but she bolted over and was back in six minutes, pickaxe in hand.

Of course, she always wanted to be around me so I could give her attention. She is great at getting attention, and getting what she wants. One time, she wanted to cuddle with me. I said I couldn't at the because I was a bit tired, but she gave me the 'Puppy Dog Eyes' again, which ultimately ended up in us spending half an hour cuddling together. If Susie hadn't called out that it was dinnertime, I willing to say that Snowy would have kept on cuddling until it was time for bed.

All and all, Snowy is definitely a good friend. She's kind, smart, but still very tough. A fact that was proven earlier today.

It was a cold day today, and a light fog was rolling through the air. I was getting ready for another mining trip. We needed a few more ores, so I stepped up again and volunteered to go get more.

While I was grabbing some bread and such to keep me going, Snowy walked over to me. "Hey Master, what are you doing?" she asked.

I replied, "Getting food ready for a mining trip." Snowy's eyes lit up at that.

"Can I come again?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Just tell Susie beforehand. We leave in… oh, five, ten minutes or so." I replied. Snowy bolted, probably to tell Susie and then get ready.

Five minutes later, Snowy was ready to go. She yelled, "Come on Master! Let's go!"

"Hold on! One more thing!" I said, before grabbing my weapons belt. I went upstair and found Susie, looking around one of the rooms again. "We're going Susie. See ya in about thirty minutes or so." I said.

She walked over to me, saw I had everything, and said, "Come back to me safe, okay?" I nodded, before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Soon, me and Snowy were almost at the mine entrance. She didn't have a sword on her, but she didn't need one. Her nails were more than enough to help, and I think she had some sharp teeth as well. She'd be fine.

We reached the entrance and descended downward. Snowy was running around happily, glad to be with me. I couldn't help but smile at the cute display before me.

But the mood didn't stay like that forever.

About ten minutes after we entered, we came to a split in the road. I was thinking carefully about this. We had only seen a couple monsters, a few zombies and a creeper, but I still needed to be alert.

And then, I heard it. A rattle. I tensed up. "You heard that too, right?" I asked.

"Yes, which way…?" Snowy started. I think she was going to ask which way did it come from, but her question was answered quickly.

Out of nowhere, a group of skeletons approached from the right. Then, another group came out of the left. 'That's… woah… seven of them…' I thought.

One made their clackity sound. I didn't understand it, but the other skeleton's stood at the ready.

"Okay, so seven of them versus a human and a wolf girl. Them odds alright with you?" I said in a whisper to Snowy.

She looked at me, worried. "I don't know… I've fought a lot of skeletons before, but not this many with only two people."

I would have said more, but then, one fired. The arrow flew right at me. I didn't have a chance to block it at it hit me in the shoulder. If I hadn't been wearing iron armor, the arrow would have done a lot more damage. As it was, it still hurt like hell, so I instantly knew it pierced my shoulder.

I put my hand to it, and when I pull the arrow out, the point of it is covered in blood. I got slightly dizzy, I was kinda okay seeing blood, just not my blood. That was different.

"Cheap shot." I said, trying to tune out the pain. But when I looked over, Snowy was breathing very heavy. She was looking at where the arrow had hit, and when she saw blood, she lost it. She turned back to the skeletons, and charged them so fast, none of them had time to react.

Of course, I didn't just STAND there, I ran after her, slicing and stabbing. But Snowy... she was something, alright. Her entire demeanor seemed to have changed. Her eyes were a deep, crimson, and she didn't seem like she was going to stop until all of these things were dead.

"This is what you get for hurting my master!" she yelled loudly, slashing one and biting at another a second later.

Within two minutes, all the skeletons were reduced to bones, arrows, and a decent bow. They never stood a chance. I sat down on a block against the wall, and began cleaning the wound I had as best as I could. Snowy returned to me, eyes turning back to the normal color, but very concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah… I'll be fine." I said, panting a little from the fight. Another three minutes, and with Snowy's help, managed to make a temporary bandage for it until Susie could properly fix it.

"I think we need to head back now. This will be fine for a while, but we gotta get it checked over by Susie." I said. Snowy nodded, and after we gathered up everything, we headed back home, this time, thankfully, without any monster interruptions.

"Why did you jump into battle like that?" I asked her on the way.

Snowy replied, without a shadow of a doubt, "Because… because I can't stand to see you in pain. If something hurts you, I'll take it on, no matter what it is. Because you're… special to me. You're my master after all."

What she said was on my mind for the rest of the trip. 'Hm… she'll protect me from anything? She is almost loyal to a fault. She'll be getting something for this. I don't know if I could have taken on all of those without her.' I thought.

When we got home, my shoulder was the first thing Susie noticed. "What happened!?" she cried out when I walked in.

Me and Snowy explained what happened, and Susie calmed down a little. She grabbed her supplies and began to fully examine the wound.

Turns out, a wounded shoulder would soon be the least of my worries…

 **Annnnd, there we go! You guys liking how long the chapters are? I make them this long just so you guys have some good stuff to read.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for reading this chapter! It's still awesome to know that the random stuff I think up and type, you guys really enjoy it. You all are the best!**

 **But I do have an announcement. Don't worry, this one is a fun one. Recently, I've been thinking about making another story about a completely different game. So I'd have two stories running at the same time. It seems like a challenge, but I'm willing to step up to it.**

 **If you guys are wondering what the story is about, well… HDN. That's all I'm giving you. If you figure it out, you deserve a butter cookie. So if you people want to see this new story, let me know. It'd be my HONOR to make another story for you awesome people.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your ingame username, what server, and when. Until next time guys, stay awesome.**


	17. The Hell Begins Again

**Hello all of you awesome people out there! It's ButterHunter here again, back with another chapter! It is awesome that all of you give me support and advice on how to do this. I appreciate everyone of you guys for taking time out of your day to read my story.**

 **Anyway, I'll shut up now. Here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 17: The Hell Begins Again

 _The next day…_

"Uggggh…" I groaned.

The wound in my shoulder was hurting really bad when I woke up this morning. Susie had checked it over and said everything would be okay after we patched it up with some medicine and a gauze bandage.

The medicine hurt like hell on it, and I was trying my hardest to not run from a little pain. Thankfully, Snowy was right there, doing her best to calm me. She spoke in soft, comforting words, and it definitely helped out.

Afterward, the three of us didn't do much of anything else of interest. The only thing worth mentioning was Snowy seemed a bit more clingy to me after the trip, wanting even more to be around me. Guess she was still scared about my injury.

Anyway, I toughed it out as best as I could, and got up, getting ready for a shower. I grabbed the clothes I would wear and a towel, and then headed for the bathroom.

A bit of steam was seeping from the underside of the door. I figured it was just from when Susie had taken her shower. I opened the door, and was suddenly met with a huge burst of steam.

'Dang, how recently did she take her shower?' I thought, stepping in. Too late, I realized I could hear water running, and a gentle humming.

The shower curtain was closed, but behind it, I could see someone casually taking their shower. It looked like Snowy, but I wasn't sure.

"Hmm hmm hmm…" Snowy hummed. I kinda just stood there for a second, the full reality of this situation not fully hitting me yet.

"Hmm… hm? Why does the air feel a bit cold suddenly?" she said. I realized I had the door wide open. I quickly darted back out, closing the door gently to not alert her.

I sat down on the bed for a minute, taking deep breaths to calm myself. 'That was… that was almost bad.' I thought.

I caught myself thinking about Snowy's figure. She was small but lean it looked like, and I remember staring at her… 'NO! Stop thinking about those!'

I tried to clear it from my head, but it wasn't easy. She was rather small in terms of chest size… 'Arrggh! Stop thinking like that! You're better than that!' I chided myself.

Soon after, the sound of water falling stopped. I sat down on the bed and waited, trying to keep a straight, not guilty face.

The bathroom door opened, and out stepped a fully dressed Snowy, her hair still a little wet. She saw me, smiled, and nearly pounced on me, hugging me from the side.

"Good morning Master!" she said. I patted her head, saying, "Good morning to you Snowy."

She continued her hug, before seeing my towel and my outfit. "Oh, are you going to take a shower?" she asked.

I nodded, saying, "Yeah, I was kinda surprised that you were in there. Then again, I was asleep for a little bit longer."

Snowy just shrugged. "I don't know, I just wanted a shower and you weren't awake, so I figured you would be okay if I took one." she said.

"Well, I'll be right back, okay? You go ahead and see if Susie made breakfast yet." I said. Snowy nodded, standing up and heading for the door. With that, I went to the bathroom.

 _Let's skip ahead five minutes past the shower, okay? We don't need to know everything that happens._

I stepped out, dressed and ready. Thankfully, the bandage on my shoulder was waterproof, so I just avoided it best as possible, for now.

"Ugh… why does it still hurt like hell?" I said to myself. It was twinging just enough to get on my nerves. I had to stop myself from picking at the bandage to see what was going on under there.

I stepped into the main room to see that Susie was cooking pancakes and bacon this time around. Snowy was eyeing very closely the bacon on the counter. I knew she was trying very hard not to just reach over and grab it.

"Morning everyone!" I said. The other two looked over with matching smiles.

"Morning." they said at the same time. I walked over and sat down next to Snowy, making sure to keep an eye on her hands, watching that they made no sudden movements.

After about another ten minutes of eating and cleaning, Susie went upstairs again, saying she would call me if she needed me.

That left me and Snowy to sit down in front of the fireplace. It was rather small, to be honest, and very bare. A few small plants were on either side, but that was about all there was.

"Hmmm…" I said. Snowy heard that.

"Something on your mind, Master?" she asked. I looked over at her.

"Yeah, I just kinda think… the fireplace… doesn't really have much, decor-wise, does it? Just a few plants."

Snowy thought about that. "Well… what else can you put there?"

"Hmm… definitely not my family photo, that's… too sensitive. Wish I had my camera…" I said. Snowy thought about that, before something came to mind.

"Camera… small box, with a lens that pokes out?" she asked.

"Yeah, that. How do you…" I started. She reached into one of her pockets, and pulled something out.

"This thing… is this a camera?" she asked, handing me the object. It was a camera, or at least, a broken one. It was a bit mangled up, as if it had been through a lot. The lens was in good condition, which surprised me. There was a hole where the button should go, and peeking through that showed the inside was missing a few pieces. Even so, it looked like it could all be fixed.

"Snowy, where did you find this? I only know camera's are in towns or cities." I asked.

"Well, um… my pack and I found a random bag in the middle of nowhere. This was in there. I was against taking stuff from it, but my pack said that the owner would have taken it if he wanted his stuff. I still wasn't okay with it, but I grabbed this because it looked like the one thing he wouldn't mind losing." she said.

"Well, this is perfect. I think I can fix this thing. I think there's a DIY book in my bag somewhere on how to fix things. When I do, I know exactly what to put on the fireplace." I said, grabbing my bag.

"If you need my help with that, I'm here for you Master." Snowy said, smiling in her adorable way. I petted her head again. She said she liked it, but it felt a little weird petting someone who looked like a human.

After about five minutes, I found the book, and flipped through it. By now, Snowy had fallen asleep on my lap, snoring gently. I didn't want to know what mood she would be in if I forced her to wake up.

"Aha!" I said softly. I found the chapter all about fixing a camera, and I think I even had the model the book showed. 'Weird how this book has a chapter about fixing a camera… oh well.' I thought.

 _Few days later…_

"Put this here… put that there…" I murmured under my breath. Snowy walked over from behind me, and sat down on the furnace next to the crafting table I was working at.

"You almost got that thing to work yet, Master?" she asked.

"Almost… just gotta put these pieces where they go… and now…" I said, preparing for the moment of truth.

If this did work, I knew that we would get a lot of uses out of the camera, and possibly find out things people have never even known about before. It all came to the moment of truth.

I held up the camera, and looked at Snowy thourgh it. "Smile!" I said. She did, and I pressed the button.

 _Snap!_

The click was heard, and then, the photo came out the bottom of the camera. I grabbed the photo and put down the camera, then held the photo for Snowy to see.

"Perfect. I can't believe it works!" I said. The photo looked perfect, and was even the right size for a picture frame. Snowy looked as cute as ever in the photo. The real Snowy looked amazed.

"So… this thing will take pictures of anything?" she asked, gently holding the camera as to not break it. I nodded.

"Yeah, we can take any picture of anything, anytime, as long as it has film in it, which we have to make." I replied.

"Cooooool." she said, very impressed. I smiled at her amazement.

"Anyway, why did you need to fix this thing for your idea again?" she asked, handing the camera back to me.

"You'll find out in a second." I said, grabbing the sticks I glued together at the ends to work as a stand. I put the camera on top, and positioned everything correctly.

"Susie! Can you come down here real quick?" I called upstairs. She came down, saying, "Yes, Cameron? You need something?"

"Yeah. I finally got that camera to work. I would like to finally use it and take a group photo. More decoration in here, you know?" I said.

Susie smiled at me, and walked over to me. After a few minutes, I put everyone in the right place, and we were ready to take the picture.

"Okay… get ready, I'm gonna run over… now!" I said, pushing the button. I had ten seconds to get into position. I ran over, standing next to Susie, putting a hand on Snowy's shoulder.

"Smile everyone!" I said, doing just that. The other two followed suit.

 _Snap!_

The camera took the photo and out came the finished product. "Let's see how we look." I said, walking over and grabbing the picture. The three of us looked at it.

"Man, we look good in this." I commented. The other two agreed with me.

"Especially you two." Snowy said.

"You look good in this as well Snowy." Susie replied.

"Yeah, you look cute in this photo." I added. Snowy just blushed a bit.

"So… what are you going to do with that?" Susie asked me. In response, I grabbed the picture frame I built, put the photo in it, and walked over to the fireplace.

"Annnnd… there." I said, stepping back. With the picture right there, this house truly felt a lot more homey, at least to me.

"Do you two like it?" I asked. They didn't say anything, but Snowy did come over and hugged me round the middle. Susie wrapped her arm around me, and smiled at me.

"I think… we have a winner." I said, wrapping both of them in a big group hug.

 _About thirty minutes later…_

'Hmm… what else should I do today?' I thought. I had looked at my watch to find it was only 4:45 pm, still quite a while before dinner.

'Eh, I'll just read.' I thought eventually. I didn't really feel like going outside at the moment. So I plopped down on the bed, book in hand, and started to read.

A few seconds after I read the first chapter and realized what book I was reading again, the bedroom door opened and Snowy stepped in.

"Whatcha reading there, Master?" she asked, walking over to my side.

"Eh, just another book I've read about a million times by now." I said, patting the bed next to me. She jumped up and snuggled close to me wholeheartedly.

I held the book so she could read along as well. She liked to read the books I had, but liked reading them with me more. For a while, neither of us spoke. It was another story about some random kid who goes on an epic quest to save the world from a powerful evil again. 'These books almost always follow the exact same plot line, huh?' I thought.

After some time had passed, I couldn't help but look over at Snowy. She was so cute, what with how absorbed she was in the story.

"Aww…" I said. She heard me, because she looked over at me.

"What?" she asked.

"You're just so adorable when you get absorbed in a story." I said. Snowy blushed at that, saying that she wasn't that cute.

"Uh, yeah, you are." I retorted.

"Mm… Maybe a little…" she said, an embarrassed smile coming to her face. I could see a small twitch in her hand, as if she was resisting to hug me.

"Awww… does someone want attention?" I cooed to her. She blushed a bit more at that.

"N-no, why would you… oh who am I kidding? Yes, I do." she said, defeated. I put the book down and held my arms open, and she scooted over into them.

"Siiiigggh…" Snowy said, enjoying this moment. Neither of us said anything, we just hugged each other. It was fine for a while.

Then things turned to, well, bad. REALLY bad.

Snowy started to sniff the air. "Is… is Susie cooking something?" she asked. I smell the air, but didn't smell anything.

"No, I don't think so, why?" I asked. Snowy didn't respond at first, see just continued to smell the air.

"Something smells… sweet. It's faint, but I still smell it." she said, sniffing around trying to pinpoint the source.

After a while, she moved her face around, searching even harder. Slowly, she came to a stop, right at me.

"It's… coming from you, Master?" she said, opening her eyes in confusion. I was rather confused as well.

"Eh? I smell sweet?" I asked. I know she had a much better nose than me, but I like to think I'd know if I smelled different.

"Yeah, I think so. Hold on…" she said, closing her eyes again. Slowly, her face moved closer to me.

"It's… getting stronger…" she said, still a bit confused. I was too, but I didn't say anything.

Then, she scoots right over to me, and places her hand on my shoulder. I was surprised, but I still didn't do anything. I wanted to see where this was going.

"Mm… It… smells… good…" Snowy said, but it sounded different. Her voice was becoming rather sweet. This new tone… it made me nervous.

"Snowy?" I asked. She didn't respond, instead continuing to move closer and closer to me. It was as if she was not in control of herself while doing this.

"Very strong… sweet smell…" Snowy said. Her voice was getting sweeter by the second.

"Snowy? You okay? Earth to Snowy?" I said, tapping her head. Suddenly, she stirred, and then her eyes opened again.

She blinked once before saying, "Oh… um… hi?"

"Hi? That's all you got? What was that?" I asked. Her face became flushed with embarrassment.

"Ummm… nothing… that was nothing. I just… blanked out for a second. I'm gonna go see if Susie started dinner yet…" she said quickly, before running out of the room.

'What was that about?' I thought to myself.

 _Snowy POV…_

"Pant, pant, pant…" I said, holding a hand to my heart. "It's… beating so fast…"

What did that mean? I cared about Master, but all of the sudden, I ran away from him… why?

"Okay… calm down. Maybe… maybe I just spaced out for a moment. That's… that has to be it." I told myself. "Yeah… I just spaced out."

"You did what?" a voice spoke up. I jumped nearly a foot off the ground. The voice belonged to Susie, who was standing directly in front of me. She looked curious at me, wondering what I was talking about.

"Oh, um… nothing, just… talking to myself." I said quickly, trying to not look guilty. Susie didn't look convinced, but she guessed I didn't really want to talk about it right now.

"Alright, if you say so. Where's Cameron?" she asked. I pointed to the bedroom, and she walked over and closed the door behind her.

"Whew… I better go calm down in my room for a while." I said, going to the stairs.

 _Cameron POV…_

 _One hour later…_

So, what Snowy had done earlier was still fresh on my mind, but I didn't think she would want to talk about it right now. So after some time passed, Snowy had calmed down and was back to her cheery self again.

Some time later, I was digging through one of the chests in one of the rooms Susie and I had built. We had decided we would need a storage room, so we made that one early on.

I was looking for wool and dyes, so I could make some more clothes for Snowy. Susie had made a few hasty pairs, but now I wanted to give her more variety in her wardrobe.

Thirty seconds into my search, Snowy came up and saw me. "You looking for something, Master?" she asked. I looked up to she her smiling down at me.

"Yeah, I'm looking for the wool and dyes. Their in one of these chests in here. Mind helping me look?" I asked. She immediately opened one up and started searching.

For a while, neither of us found anything. Then, I found it.

"Got it! You can stop now Snowy, I found it. Come over here." I said. I was not ready for what happened next.

 _Snowy POV…_

I started to walk over to Master. His back was turned, digging through the chest he was in.

Suddenly, it kicked in again. The smell… the smell from before was back. It was just as strong as before.

Before I could even know what was going on, instinct took over. I walked over and touched his back gently. "Snowy?" he said, but I didn't say anything.

Even more gently, I wrapped my arms around him, pressing up against him. He stiffened a bit more, clearly unprepared for this. "Snowy, what are you-"

"Hmm… it's… back… the wonderful smell…" I said in a trance. I was sniffing his back, trying to take in as much sweetness as possible. It only made me want more.

"The smell? Um… Snowy, snap out of it!" he said, tapping my head. But his voice was becoming further away, his touch almost too soft to make out.

"Such a thick, powerful smell…" I said. I would have gone on more, but suddenly, my brain clicked about what was going on. My eyes, which I didn't even realize were closed, shot open.

"Oh no… I'm… I'm sorry, it happened again…" I said, trying to keep my expression neutral, but failing. Master looked at me with a concerned expression.

"Snowy… be honest with me. Are you feeling okay right now?" he asked, his hand clasping my shoulder. His touch… it felt… too good…

"Ah! I'm… I'm fine! No need to worry about little old me! I'm going downstairs now!" I said, running away from him again. He stared at me, worried.

Downstairs, in the bedroom with the door locked, I tried once again to control my breathing. 'I'm losing it. What the hell is going on with me? Why do I just blank out around him? It can't be normal… right?' I thought.

But in the middle of my rapid thinking, a knock was heard on the door. I stayed quiet, hoping Master wasn't the one knocking.

"Hello? Is someone in here?" the person behind the door said. It was Susie's voice. Tentatively, I stepped to the door and opened it a crack.

"Is… is Master close by?" I asked. Susie shook her head, so I opened the door and let her in.

"Something wrong between you two? You've been acting strangely lately." she asked.

"N-no… nothing's wrong… just… things… are happening… I just need to think for a while…" I said, sitting down on the bed. Susie looked like she wanted to talk more, but I didn't. "I'll… I'll talk to you later about it, okay? Just… let me think for a while…"

"O-okay…" she said, not breaking me from her line of sight until she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

I needed to get my thoughts together. This all had to be connected somehow. 'But how?' I asked myself in my mind. Nothing jumped out at me.

Master… this had something to do with Master. Only around him has this weird behaviour been happening. 'Why only around him… why?' I thought to myself.

Then, the answer slammed into my mind. 'N-no… that's… that's… impossible… how…'

Do I…

Do I more than just care about my Master?

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Time skip to 8:00 pm…_

'Hm…' I thought.

Snowy's recent behaviour had me very concerned. I couldn't just drop the fact that she seemed different. Maybe she had gotten sick or something, and this was one of the side effects.

"Hey… Susie?" I said, tapping on her shoulder. She looked up at me.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorta." I said, looking over at Snowy, who was reading next to the fire. "Have… have you seen Snowy acting strange lately?"

"Yeah, I have. Both times when she ran away from where ever you were. It… it has me concerned." she answered, looking over at Snowy as well.

"Maybe… she's sick or something?" I suggested. Susie shrugged.

"I don't know… what made her run away?" she asked.

"Well…" I began telling her what had happened both times Snowy and I were last together.

"So… she hugged you tightly, saying that you smelled sweet? And then she snapped back to normal, got embarrassed, and ran from you?" Susie asked, which I confirmed.

"Hmm… I don't… wait." she said, an idea coming to her mind.

"What? What is it?" I asked eagerly. Susie seemed… afraid to tell me.

"Umm… I'm not 100% positive… I'll have to see her blank out to be sure." she said.

"And how the hell do you propose we do that?" I said bitterly. Susie didn't have an answer for that one.

As it turned out, it would be even easier than expected.

Thirty minutes after I had my conversation with Susie, I was sitting down in my chair. Susie was behind the counter, cleaning I guess. I was thinking about ways on how to show Susie what was happening.

Snowy kept on glancing over at me. I guess she was waiting for me to say something.

"Hey… Snowy." I said. She turned, but didn't look me in the eye.

"Yes… Master?" she said slowly. I got out of the chair and sat down next to her. The closer I got, the harder she tried to not look at me.

"Snowy… if something is wrong… just tell me. I know something's up with you lately. Just tell me what it is." I said in a gentle voice. She still didn't look at me.

"I… well… there's…" she started. But she wasn't able to do it.

"Snowy… look at me." I said. She shook her head no. "Do it. Stop looking at the ground. It's only me. Nothing has changed."

My words slowly worked their magic. Very slowly, her head turned and she looked me in the eye.

"Now… tell me. What is wrong. You can trust me. You know that." I said, slowly reaching a hand over to her.

That did the trick. The second my hand touched her shoulder, Snowy suddenly shuddered. It was loud enough to get Susie's attention.

I pulled my hand back quickly. "What? Did I do something?" I asked quickly. Snowy looked at me… and then her eyes closed.

'Oh shit.' was my thought, as she suddenly jumped at me, and hugged me. "It… it's… it's… back." she said.

"Oh crap." I said. Susie rushed over and watched, seeing if her thoughts matched what was happening.

Snowy was really going at it this time around. She pressed right up against me, our cheeks gently rubbing against each other.

"S-Snowy? What are you…" I said, but the Snowy I knew wasn't in at the moment. She sniffed even harder than last time, her hug was a bit tighter.

"So… so… sweet… Mas… Masterrrrrr…" she gently cooed. Her face showed no shame at the moment, and she was lost in her own thoughts.

"Oh my Notch…" Susie said. Suddenly, Snowy snapped back, surprised that Susie was right next to me. One look around told her how bad this was.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm… please… I…" she said franticly. She didn't know what to say to get out of this mess. She backed up, but soon found herself in a corner.

"Susie… did you… find something out?" I asked. For the count of thirty seconds, she didn't say anything.

"Snowy… is it… you…" she slowly started. Snowy looked over at her. The two had a quick silent conversation. Then, Snowy slowly nodded. Susie looked shocked.

"What? What is going on here?" I said, getting slightly exasperated. Snowy couldn't look at me, and Susie was having a large fight with herself on whether or not to tell me.

"Cameron…" she finally started. I listened very closely. I didn't want to miss anything.

I almost wished I hadn't.

"She's…" Susie said slowly. "She's…"

"Spit it out already!" I said exasperatedly.

Susie looked at me with a very worried expression, before saying the last three words I wanted to hear.

"She's… in heat."

 **HA! The cock-blocker within me as awakened again! Hahahaha! I forgot how much fun it was to troll all of you!**

 **Hahhh… Oh so much rage directed at me… even if most of you don't say it outright… worth it.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. I'm sorry that chapters aren't coming out as much a I want, but it takes a while to type up this story. Ideas don't grow on trees, you know.**

 **Sorry I had to end the chapter here, but I did for three reasons. One, to remind everyone that I can and will troll if I find it necessary. (insert troll face here)**

 **Second, if I continued, the chapter would have to end on an even bigger cock-blocking moment, and I didn't want THAT much rage directed at me. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter.**

 **Third, I need a breather before this next one. You all can guess what the next chapter will be about. It's a lot harder to type those scenes than it looks. Not to mention kinda awkward. I need to psych myself up for this...**

 **Anyway, thank you all so much for reading! I probably will make a chapter or two for my new story before the next chapter on this story comes out. Sorry bout that.**

 **I do have some awesome news though. Recently, I bought myself my own personal survival server, but I don't have many people on it right now. Sooo… if any of you people are interested in playing survival with me, PM when and I'll send you the IP. I'm not putting out the IP for anyone to read, only through an PM, because I can only have so many people on at once. Sorry about that.**

 **Otherwise, PM me if you want to play other MC servers with me, or any other questions you have. Until the next chapter you guys, stay awesome.**


	18. Harem Confirmed

**Hello once again all of you awesome people! It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter to my story! So far, this story has been awesome to type up. I really hope you all have been enjoying the story as it has been going.**

 **Anyway, let's jump right back where we left off, eh?**

 **(Oh yeah, there's a lemon in this chapter as well. Just throwing that out there.)**

Chapter 18: Harem Confirmed

 _Cameron POV…_

For a while, no one made a sound. At first, what Susie had said made me confused. 'What did she…'

Then everything came crashing down on me. I started sweating instantly. Something in the back of my mind came back to me. I read something like this in one of the books I took with me.

I don't know why I took it with me, as it was about raising dogs. But now, one of the chapters came back to me.

"Situations When Dealing With a Fast Maturing Dog."

'...Oh fuck.' I thought.

"W-w-w-what… when… why…" I tried to say, but ended up only stuttering random nonsense.

"She's… she's been like that all day. She… cares so much about you, that… she loves you. Enough to want to do 'that' with you." Susie said. I looked over at Snowy, hoping to dear Notch that this was all just one big joke. But Snowy only nodded slowly, still breathing a little heavily.

"M… Mas… Master…" she said, looking at me with pleading eyes. I didn't know what to think. 'Wh-what the hell am I supposed to say in this kind of situation?!' I thought.

"I…" I started, but Snowy wasn't done. She slowly walked over to me and tightly hugged me, still with the pleading eyes. "I…" I tried again.

"Cameron." Susie said behind me. I turned as best as I could with Snowy hugging me. "I… I don't see any other choice."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, knowing I wasn't about to like the answer.

"You… have to… do 'it' with her." she said, her eyes still a little worried. 'Oh fucking shit. She didn't even try to sugarcoat it.' I thought.

"It's the only way. Being in heat… I read it somewhere before. If… she stays like that… it could be harmful to her health." Susie said. I looked again at the wolf hugging my chest. She was still pleading me with her eyes, telling me, 'Please… help me…'

"B-but… I… I can't do that to her. I'll never live with myself if I do it. I mean… what are you going to think tomorrow?" I said, trying anything to get myself out of this.

But Susie surprised me. She gently smiled, though it did look a little bit forced, and went over and placed her hands on my shoulders. "As long as I still have you… I don't care. I just don't want to lose you. But you have to help her right now. She's the top priority." she said.

I was still uncomfortable with all of this. I mean, how could I have two relationships going at the same time? I don't think that's right. 'Maybe… If I say that…' I thought.

I glanced at Snowy again. She was now pressed right against me, begging me with her eyes to make her better.

"Come on Cameron. You know you like her as well." Susie said. I looked back at her. I tried to deny it, but Susie saw right through it.

"Come on Cameron. You like her as well. Just say it." Susie persisted. Slowly, I gave in, and nodded slightly. "See? Why can't you tell her that?"

"Because I already have one girlfriend. Isn't it wrong to have two of them?" I retorted. Susie thought about that, before an idea came to mind.

"It's only wrong if you think it's wrong. I mean, who else would even know out here? It's only us." she said. She had a point. We were kinda in the middle of nowhere.

"B-but still…" I started, trying to get something in, but Susie shushed me. She looked me dead in the eye, not breaking eye contact.

"Look at her. She's begging you to help her. But this is one illness I don't have the cure for. You do. She needs to know that you love her just as much as you do." Susie said.

I looked back at Snowy. If possible, she looked even more pitiful than before. The sight made me want to cry. 'If she stays like that… then I have to, don't I? But still, my mind doesn't think that it's right…'

I closed my eyes, and let out a gentle sigh. Not of annoyance, but of defeat. Both of them knew instantly that I was just about to give in. All it needed was one last push.

"Cameron… one last thing." Susie said. I looked up at her. For a second, she seemed to forget her train of thought. "Just… treat her nicely, okay? She's… afraid."

I nodded slowly, before looking back down. Slowly, I got eye-level with Snowy. Her face was red, breathing a bit ragged. "M… Mas…" she started.

"Shhh…" I said, my face redder than hers. I took one last glance over, and saw Susie was going into the other bedroom. She was giving us a bit of privacy, which I was rather thankful for.

"S-Snowy… um…" I started, stuttering right off the bat. Snowy looked at me, already knowing about where this was going.

"I… well, Snowy, I… I will not deny it. These past few days… I admit… I started to see you as more than just a friend. But… I thought I couldn't just outright say it because, well… I love Susie. But now… I…" I said, thinking that this was at least starting okay. Snowy was listening with bated breath.

"I… realized, you're not just a friend. You're… someone I trust. Someone I care about." I continued, not daring to turn back now. "Someone… I love."

Snowy's grip tightened a little at my words. But she still never broke eye contact.

"I… I love you Snowy… I'm sorry I couldn't… just say before. But, I was… afraid. Afraid of what would happen. Do… do you still love me?" I said. I already knew the answer, but I still wanted conformation.

"Ma… Master…" she said slowly. She continued to tighten her hug on me, getting even closer to me. "I…" she started. But I made the first move.

"Shh…" I said, putting my hands on her cheeks. Her eyes got a bit wider, but she didn't dare look away. Her face was bright red by now.

Five seconds later, our lips met. Snowy tensed up at first, but soon relaxed and pulled my face closer to hers. She was gentle, not pushing much, instead leaving that to me.

Her lips were soft and warm, just like Susie's. But unlike Susie, Snowy was rather reserved. She didn't want to make too many big moves, as to not mess up anything. I related to that very much. But even so, it made me only kiss even more, as to make her happy.

After some time, we pulled apart. If it was possible, Snowy was even redder than before. Her tail was wagging at a million miles an hour, she was that happy. But we both knew that a simple kiss wasn't going to do much with Snowy's heat.

So, after a few more gentle kisses, both of us slowly made our way to Snowy's room.

 _Meanwhile, in the other bedroom…_

 _Susie POV…_

The creak of the floor boards signaled that those two were heading upstairs. I will not lie, I was rather happy Cameron was finding another person to make him happy in his roller coaster of a life. But at the same time, it kinda made me upset that now he has two people fighting for his love.

'Well… it's not like it wouldn't have happened. I mean, he is the only guy out here for quite a long way. It would have been inevitable for her to not fall in love with him. Not to mention she trusts him more than anything else in the world. Maybe… maybe it's better this way. Now she doesn't have to worry about my relationship with him.' I thought.

I crawled under the covers of the bed. I realized quickly it would be hard to fall asleep for now. I was alone. For the first time in… Notch, has it really only been about two, three weeks? And yet, we had done so much…

I relaxed, thinking it was only a night. Snowy needed Cameron much more right now.

So, after a bit longer, I gently passed out, saying silently to Cameron, even though he wasn't there, "I love you, Cameron. No matter what happens."

 _Back to Cameron POV…_

My mind was racing a million miles an hour about what was about to happen. Sure, I had already done this shit once, but that was with Susie. Doing it again, with a new girl, barely over a week or two from it happening before, was rather stressful. But there was no turning back at this point.

I stepped into the room after Snowy, and closed the door behind me. I breathed a sigh to try and release some pressure off of me, knowing it wasn't going to do much. Slowly, I turned to see Snowy standing close to me, eyes looking right at me.

I didn't say anything, but rather walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. She embraced me back. For a few moments, we enjoyed the tender scene together.

"Master…" Snowy said quietly. I glanced down at her. She looked up at me, with her big puppy eyes. "Are you… really going to go through with all of this… just for me?" she asked.

"Well… yes." I said, sitting down on her bed, having her sit on my lap. "I mean… I don't want to just leave you when you need me most. I… I love you. I could never abandon you."

Snowy broke eye contact with me, looking down at the floor to collect her thoughts. Then she looked up at me again, this time with a small smile on her face. The first one I had seen she Susie had revealed Snowy's condition.

"Master…" she said, before kissing me gently again. For a few moments, we sat there, doing nothing but enjoying our kiss. My fingers gently ran through her smooth, long hair.

Then I remembered why we were here in the first place. Snowy seemed to realize that as well, because she pulled away, her face becoming embarrassed again.

"Um… so…" she started, shifting around uncomfortably. I guess she didn't really know what to do at the time. So I realized I would have to start this for us.

I gently hugged Snowy, quieting her. Slowly, my hands ran up and down her sides. After a minute, she followed my example, running her hands along my sides. I gently kissed her, just as my hands reached the bottom of her shirt. She followed me, so I guessed right when I thought she didn't know what to do at first.

After about five minutes, we had stripped down to our underwear, still gently feeling each other while kissing. Both of our faces were redder than apples at this point, but there was no turning back now.

Since Snowy had been only following what I did at this point, I decided to do something she couldn't immediately do.

And pushed her on her back, onto the bed. I was looking down at her face, amazed at how cute she looked when she got embarrassed. She didn't know what to do. But I did. Somehow.

And thus, the hell began all over again.

"No turning back now." was all I said, before grabbing the straps of her bra with one hand.

Snowy's face was completely red everywhere now. I wouldn't have been shocked if her wolf ears turned red with all that was happening.

'Well…' I thought, reaching the hook of her bra. 'Here goes nothing.'

And I unhooked it.

 **!ALERT! !LEMON! !BEWARE! !DON'T READ CHILDREN! (Not like young children would be reading this, right? Right?)**

In a matter of moments, Snowy's chest was exposed. Her chest, like I thought before, was small, about B cups. For a second, I looked at the slightly quivering girl under me.

Then, she got ballsy, and in one swift move, suddenly my boxers were down. Her eyes got huge at the sight of my exposed rod.

"Heh. Didn't expect all this, did you?" I said, before kissing her again.

She didn't answer, instead only feeling parts of my body, like my chest and stuff. She avoided the more private areas for now.

Slowly, I parted from Snowy's lips, and started working my way down her body, gently touching everything. My touch made her moan more and more, effectively turning me on more and more.

My lips kissed her neck, while my hands reached for the last thing. Her panties. In one motion, I pulled them down, revealing her pink slit, already getting wet from this feeling.

"M-Mas...Mast…" Snowy tried, but she couldn't finish, as I suddenly moved my hand and gently touched her privates. Her mind was slowly turning to mush.

Soon, I finally parted from her neck. Snowy's eyes were half lidded, swimming in pleasure from my double attack. I wanted her to feel REALLY good, so I moved downward. She saw this, but didn't do anything. Only blushed even harder.

My eyes stared at the entrance. For a second, thoughts of 'I'm I really going to go through with this?' floated through my mind. Then, I steeled myself, and looked up at Snowy's deep red face. "Are you ready?" I asked. She nodded, bracing herself. I looked back down, and just like Susie, gave Snowy a gentle lick.

"Ah! M-M-Master…" Snowy nearly shouted out. I didn't answer, instead picked up the pace, finding the spots that made Snowy moan the hardest, or ones that would give her the most pleasure. Her clitoris was a big one, of course, because after I barely grazed that spot, Snowy yelped at the pleasure coursing through her.

"Master… it feels… so good… don't quit…" Snowy said through heavy deep breaths. I had no intention of doing that, so I went even faster, licking every part of her pussy, until I heard the tell-tale words come out of Snowy. "Master! I'm gonna…"

She couldn't finish. Just before she did, a light scream escaped her mouth, and her vulva leaked out her love fluid, with which I cleaned up quickly. 'She tastes amazing as well, huh…' I thought.

Snowy was panting hard, but still found the energy to pull my face back up to hers. "That was… that felt… amazing… Master…" she said, trying to regain herself. I simply kissed her, before feeling her hands move to my sides. I pulled away just in time for Snowy to roll, suddenly putting me on bottom. "Now… it's my turn… I want you to feel just as good…"

I was about to say something, but was interrupted by Snowy kissing me, while her hand grabbed my hard shaft. I moaned loudly into her mouth, once again feeling the overwhelming pleasure that only a lover could bring to the table.

Snowy soon got bored of just jerking me off, she wanted to do something else. 'I wonder what?' I thought sarcastically to myself. She looked at my dick, sizing it up…

And took my entire length into her maw. The instant that happened, I couldn't help but moan in pleasure. My fingers clenched the bed, hard enough that they started turning white. Her wolfish nature must have kicked in at that point, as I found she was a lot more fierce that Susie. Snowy's rough tongue licked all over, while also sucking gently on the entrance. The stimulus made my entire body shudder.

I almost blew my load, but I resisted, leaking out only a little pre-cum. Snowy's eyes almost popped out at the taste of my seed. She wanted more. Her pace quicked, her head bobbing up and down, trying to speed up the process.

It worked. Not even three minutes later, I was calling out, "Snowy! I'm… I'm about to…"

Snowy understood, and moved her mouth until she only had my tip. With one final suck, and a loud orgasm from me, I exploded inside her mouth, which she caught with her tongue and quickly swallowed. But she wanted a little more, so she grabbed my dick again, and squeezed out a small bit more, instantly licking it up.

 **Okay, lemon is over. You can stop fapping now. (Don't lie. I know some of you did.)**

I gently panted, worn out from everything we had done tonight.. Snowy noticed this, and crawled over to lay down next to me. "Master… are you okay?" she said, a hand touching my cheek. I opened my eyes to see the concern in her big, bright brown eyes.

I gently chuckled, embracing her in a loving hug. "I'm fine Snowy. MORE than fine. That was amazing." I said. She blushed a little again, but gently returned my hug. We both fell asleep holding each other, never wanting to let the other go.

At that point, I couldn't have been anymore happier.

 _Time skip to 9:30 am…_

" _Yaaawwwwnnnnn…_ " I yawned, rubbing my eyes. I had forgot about last night, and everything that happened. Morning sunlight drifted in through the window. "Oh, man, what time is it?"

I opened my eyes, to see a sleeping Snowy holding me tightly. For a second, a million emotions ran through my mind, confusion, fear, and joy, to name a few. Then everything that happened last night returned.

"Huh… so I actually did it." I said quietly to myself. That's when I realized once again I had no clothes on. "Oh shit, better get dressed…"

Somehow I broke out of Snowy's death grip without waking her up, and made it to the bathroom with a new change of clothes. On the way out, dressed in a hoodie and jeans, I noticed that Susie was still asleep, meaning once again I had gotten up earliest again.

So I decided to go ahead and make breakfast once again, seeing as I still had at least another half hour until the other two woke up.

Thirty minutes later, the smell of pancakes and sausage filled the entire room. Just as I finished the last pancake, the sound of footsteps coming downstairs reached my ears. Snowy looked at me, wearing her favorite outfit, her normal 'wolf' clothes, the same ones she wore when we first met. She smiled at me, saying "Good morning Master."

"Heh. Good morning to you too, sleepyhead." I said teasingly. She blushed a little, sitting down at the counter to watch me finish cooking the sausage.

Barely two minutes later, the door to Susie's room opened and Susie entered, looking a little tired still. It looked like she had a bit of trouble falling asleep last night.

"Morning Susie!" I said cheerfully. She saw me behind the counter again, and I saw the smile I loved seeing in the morning. She didn't say anything, instead sat down at the counter.

"Your breakfast is served, m'ladies." I said, in a fake suave voice. I gave both of them their breakfast, and moved around to sit with them. I ended up sitting in between both girls.

Everyone at the counter kinda seemed a bit out of it today. Maybe everyone was still tired or something, but not much conversation happened during breakfast. Normally even though all of us are stuffing our faces, we still have some small talk going around. Also, it may have just been me, but I couldn't help but feel as though I kept getting glanced at from both girls.

Eventually, everyone finished eating, and we all started to clean up. I didn't make nearly as much of a mess as last time, so it went by relatively quick.

The whole time, Susie didn't say anything. She just kinda helped out, but I could tell that something was up.

After we finished, I pulled Susie into the bedroom, just the two of us. "Okay, something's wrong. Tell." I said, cutting straight to the chase.

Susie didn't look me in the eyes for a good ten seconds. Then, she finally spoke. "I'm just… *sigh*... You…" she started, trying to get her thoughts together. "Do… do you still love me, Cameron?"

I was quiet for the count of five. "Do I still… of course I still love you. What kind of question is that?" I said, looking curiously at her.

"I'm sorry… I just…" Susie started, before we were both interrupted. Snowy knocked on the door, asking if she could come in.

I opened the door, and Snowy walked in. She looked nervous. "Yeah, what do you need Snowy?" I said kindly.

"Umm… am I interrupting something?" she said, looking over at Susie.

"No, it's fine Snowy. You didn't know." Susie said, surprising me. Snowy took one look at Susie, before tears started to form in her eyes.

"*Sniff* I'm… I'm sorry… Susie…" Snowy said, about to start bawling. Susie and I saw this, but Susie reacted first. She went over and gently hugged Snowy, saying, "Shhh… hey, don't cry… what's wrong?"

"I… we… Master… you…" Snowy said, too upset to make full sentences. Tears gently rolled down her face, landing on Susie's shoulder.

After a solid minute, Snowy pulled herself together, sitting down on the bed. "I'm sorry… I lost control again… I can't help it…" she said, sniffling a little still. Susie and I sat down on either side of her, rubbing her back.

"Hey, it's okay, what's got you so upset?" I said. Snowy looked up at me, her warm brown eyes still filled with tears.

"I… I fell in love… even though you two already loved each other… then everything that happened… I…" she said, voice filled with guilt. "I… I never should have stayed… I should just leave…"

"No." Susie said, surprising both me and Snowy. "You are not leaving just because of that. You can't."

"But…" Snowy said, clearly not expecting that. "Isn't… isn't it bad that now we're basically fighting for him… isn't it?"

Susie thought about that for a moment. Then, she smiled gently. She put her arm around Snowy and held her close. "We aren't fighting for him. We both love him. What's wrong with that?" she asked.

Snowy didn't have a comeback for that one. For the next two minutes, the three of us sat there, thinking about… what were we going to do.

"I… I guess… we both don't have… to fight over him… if he loves us both…" Snowy said, before looking at me. "You… do love both of us… right, Master?"

Susie, who had scooted over to my other side so I could comfort Snowy, looked up at me. The twin stares from both side bore into me, making me nervous for some reason.

"Of… of course I still love both of you. What reason would I have not to?" I said, putting an arm around both of them. They visibly relaxed, letting out a breath that they didn't realize they were holding. They then hugged me from both sides, eyes closed.

"We love you, Cameron." Susie and Snowy said at the exact same time. I was silent for a second, before hugging both of them tightly, saying, "And I love both of you. Nothing will ever change that fact."

Both of them looked up when I said that. They traded a glance, but then they continued to hug me back. They even both kissed my cheeks. My face instantly went red at that. 'It's just like Susie being split up all over again.' I thought.

 _Meanwhile, outside, in the shadows of the forest…_

 _Third person POV…_

In the forest, just outside of the house, one could look right in through the window and see that tender scene. The three lovers, hugging together, on the bed. Most would find it rather cute.

But now the figure standing in the shade of a large oak tree.

"BLECH! Human scum!" the figure said, the male voice disgusted. His voice was a bit distorted, as if three figures were talking at once. "Finding love in the form of monsters? Despicable!"

"But…" the man said, rubbing his chin. "This does give me lots of options. I wonder, how should I play this? Hmm…"

The man dug through his bag, rummaging through all of his favorite weapons and tools. "Poison darts… TNT bombs… lava buckets… aha!"

He found something. Pulling it out, a glass bottle, filled with a murky, bubbling brown liquid was seen. "This will be perfect. There's no known cure for this. Once he drinks this… well, I'll worry about that later. Now, I just need to think about how to get it to him…"

The man had had enough looking for one day. He turned, heading back deeper into the woods. But not before giving Cameron and his two friends one last evil look. He looked murderous, ready to kill.

Which was easy, as he only had white, empty eyes.

 **Well then… this is getting interesting.**

 **Now someone wants to bring the end to our protagonist. If you didn't get who it was, you deserve to be slapped in the face.**

 **Sorry about a couple of things. One, sorry about how long it took to get this new chapter out. I've just been lazy, not typing, mostly due to the lemon scene. It's… awkward to type those, to say the least.**

 **Second, sorry if the lemon is kinda the same as the last one. I got no good excuse for that one.**

 **I kinda wanted to type a Christmas chapter for this story, but it's kinda late for that now. I will try for one next year. As far as I'm concerned, no story should exist without at least one chapter about Christmas!**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading this new chapter! Again, sorry it took so long to get out. But I guess this is kinda my Christmas present to all you awesome people!**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with what server, your Ingame username, and when. And if you want to join my survival server, PM me as well. There's still a few open spots left.**

 **This is ButterHunter here, and I wish you all a happy holidays! As always, stay awesome!**


	19. A Fate Worse Than Death (Part 1)

**Hello all of you awesome followers/new readers! It's ButterHunter here, back once again with yet another chapter in my story! So, brief recap, Cameron and Snowy have now 'hooked up', the three have now, more or less worked out some of the pesky problems of two girls loving the same man, and now a new person, (which if you still don't know who that was, then turn in your gamer license.) is plotting on the ruin of Cameron.**

 **So basically an average day for these three. So enough blabbing, let's get back into the thick of it.**

Chapter 19: A Fate Worse Than Death (Part 1)

 _Three days after the last chapter ended…_

 _Cameron POV…_

Things have been more or less back to normal by now. Susie, Snowy, and I have worked out pretty much every problem about our relationship. Now, those two don't worry about small things like giving me a kiss when the other is around. I myself was still a little self-conscious, but I actively tried to work on breaking that pesky little habit.

Everything was going pretty well today. We had just had lunch, and were now resting in the armchairs. Snowy was snuggled up right next to me, and Susie was reading one of her books in the bedroom again. Nothing out of the norm.

I sighed, closing the book I had been reading. I already read that one last week. I didn't need to read it again for a while. Snowy saw this and took full advantage of my boredom.

"Not interesting right now?" she asked, holding my hand gently. I looked down and saw the insanely cute spectacle in front of me. Her eyes… I kept getting lost in them. So warm and brown…

"What?" she said, her face getting red. That only made her even more adorable.

"Oh Notch you are so cute." I said quietly, wrapping an arm around her. Her blush got deeper at that, but she didn't try to deny it.

"Am… am I adorable?" she asked quietly. In response, I pulled out the small hand mirror I had in my bag and held it up for her to see.

"How could I not look at that face and NOT say you are adorable?" I said, smiling. Snowy just looked at the mirror for a second, before wrapping her arms around my neck.

"If I'm adorable, then what are you?" she asked, a soft smile coming to her face. I blushed at her sudden movements, but I realized that was what she wanted to happen.

"I don't know. What am I to you?" I threw right back at her. She put on a thoughtful look, though I could tell she was faking it. 'She already knows what I am to her. She's just trying to get a reaction out of me.' I thought.

"I think…" Snowy said, her hug tightening slightly, "That you can't be described. You're too good for labels."

That one got me. I wasn't expecting that. "Um…" I said. Snowy giggled at my confusion.

"I love it when you get flustered and confused, Master." Snowy said, before giving me another look. I would have said something, but I got lost looking at the turbo cute face she was giving me.

Ten seconds later, she moves forward and kisses me. I return it wholeheartedly. We have no cares in the world, we just want to be together like this, forever.

Of course, that's when Susie comes from the back room and caught us. Snowy saw her first, and quickly tried to pull away. I wasn't ready to quit just yet. But when I realized Susie was behind me, my only thought was, 'Oh shit…'

Susie didn't look upset or anything. She just winked at Snowy, and gave me a smile.

And then quickly sat down on my other side of me, hugging me. "My turn." she said. Snowy instantly understood.

"Wha…" I started, but stopped when Susie quickly kissed me. My face instantly became bright red, as the full shock of what was happening hit me like a train.

Snowy didn't try to pull me over to her yet. Instead, she hugged me, patiently waiting for her turn again.

Susie was really going at it this time. She quickly took control over the whole kiss, and I relaxed almost instantly. All I could do was gently moan in happiness in her mouth. Her tongue once again found every place that made me the most happy, and she jumped at every opportunity.

After Susie had her fun, a good five minutes later, mind you, she allowed Snowy to pull me back to her. My face was red all over again, and Snowy giggled at that. "Aww… he still gets so embarrassed by this." she teased. Both girls giggled playfully, while I simply tried to recollect my thoughts.

"Aww… maybe I can help." Snowy said, before pulling my face once more toward her. She gently kissed my lips, rubbing my back. Slowly, I relaxed again, becoming calm once more. Somehow these girls always managed to calm me, in their own unique ways. Susie was always a bit more fierce, whereas Snowy was more reserved, making sure I was happy before trying something unfamiliar to her.

Such as was the case when, ever so slowly, Snowy tried something new. She gently opened her mouth, waiting for my reaction. When I didn't do anything, she slowly kept on going, until our mouths were wide open.

Since I wanted her to be happy as well, I slowly, as to not scare Snowy, gently moved my tongue into her mouth. I could feel her becoming tense for a second, before relaxing fully, even encouraging me to do more. For the next few minutes, me and Snowy took turns, moaning into each others mouths.

Some time passed, until finally Snowy parted from my lips. My face was still rather red right now, as I had two amazingly beautiful girls by my side, both of which loved me will all their hearts.

My eyes were still closed from the kiss with Snowy, and the girls eagerly awaited my response. But I was too relaxed…

I felt myself slowly lean backward, relaxed in their arms, before I passed out.

I felt so happy…

 _Third person POV…_

The girls looked on in anticipation for what Cameron would say, but were surprised when he started snoring quietly. "Oh… he felt asleep." Snowy said quietly.

"Aww… he looks so peaceful…" Susie said, looking at the utterly relaxed face Cameron was making.

"Maybe we should leave him for a while. Let him rest." Snowy said, standing up. Susie agreed, and together, the two of them adjourned to the bedroom.

But not even a second later than the door closed, a figure appeared in the window. The same one from the woods three days ago.

"Heh… this will be too easy." he said, smirking. All he had to do was get inside quietly, as to not alert the girls.

The man ran through all the the ideas in his head, deciding which he liked best. Normally, just destroying the house would be his preference, but today he had other ideas. 'Why simply kill them, when I could make them suffer for the rest of their lives?' he had thought earlier.

Finally, he thought of something he liked. Concentrating for a brief moment, nine blocks popped out of where they sat, leaving a 9 by nine hole in the wall. The man easily stepped through, retrieving the thick brown potion from his bag.

"Let's see how much you like this stuff." he said, before pulling the cork stopper off the bottle and stuffing the end into Cameron's mouth. Slowly, the potion drained from the bottle, until about five minutes later, the entire bottle was empty.

"Whew… maybe should've seen what the others were doing first before risking this like that." the man said, wiping the sweat off of his brow. He wasn't sweating until two minutes had passed, and he realized he would be here for a while. If he hadn't poured everything down Cameron's throat, his plan would fail. "What are they doing back there anyway?"

Even though this wasn't his first time basically ending someone's life, far from it, he didn't realized why the girls hadn't come out from the bedroom in so long. 'They're practically joined at the hip with this guy. What's keeping them so busy?' the man thought.

Not wanting to reveal that there was a stranger in this house, he instead did some fancy magic, and suddenly, the wall to the bedroom disappeared. Not really, but it became more like one way glass. The man could see what was happening back there, but anyone in the bedroom wouldn't be able to see him.

Suddenly, the man froze. Not out of fear, but more out of surprise. 'Oh… oh my. That's what it is.' he thought. No wonder the girls in the back hadn't come out to check on Cameron. They were too busy.

And what were they busy with? To put it simply…

...They were more interested in each other. More specifically, their lips.

 **(Because every story needs more lesbians.)**

Suddenly, the man found himself with a new feeling he hadn't felt in a long while: embarrassment. The girls in the back… they were tightly lip locked together, hands running up and down each other. 'What… how… why?' he asked himself, but even he could not rewind time to find out.

 _5 minutes earlier…_

The girls closed the door behind them, still thinking out Cameron's passed out face. They sat down on the bed, Susie trying to get back into reading her book again, but couldn't focus. Snowy just sat around, rather bored, until something came to mind.

"Umm… Mistress?" Snowy said tentatively. Susie was surprised by that, as Snowy had only called her by her name until then.

"Oh, um, yes Snowy?" Susie said, caught off guard. Snowy saw that, and immediately tried to explain herself.

"Oh, um, sorry, just… you own this house, so… that makes you my Mistress… right?" she said, blush coming to Snowy's face. For a while, neither made a sound.

"Yeah… I guess…" Susie said, sporting a small smile. Again, another awkward silence filled the room for a few seconds. "S-so anyway, what did you need?"

"Um… I just was thinking…" Snowy said, her face red. "Since… since we both love… Master, then, um… does that mean…?"

At first, Susie didn't fully understand, but then, she realized what she meant, and then her face too became full of blush. "Ohh… that…"

Yet another awkward silence filled the room. Sighing, Susie put down her book and moved to the foot of the bed, thinking.

"I mean…" Susie said, her voice full of embarrassment. "I… I wouldn't be… _opposed_ to the idea… I mean…"

Snowy scooted over to Susie, very red at this point. "But… is it… okay? I mean… isn't it… wrong?" she asked, wringing her hands together. In response, Susie thought about it, and gently took one of Snowy's hands.

"It's only wrong if you think it's wrong. Just like us two in love with Cameron. We've all agreed that's okay, right?" Susie said, squeezing Snowy's hand.

Snowy glanced around at Susie's words, thinking it over by herself. When she looked back at her mistress, she found that Susie had taken her other hand.

Both girls held each other's hands, not speaking just yet. Slowly, both gazed into the other's eyes.

"But… if Master knows…" Snowy said, but that didn't stop her from wrapping her arms around Susie. Susie did the same, so now the two were in a small hug, slowly becoming closer and closer.

"I think that Cameron wouldn't mind. I think that he'd rather enjoy it." Susie said, holding Snowy a little bit tighter.

They became eye to eye. Close enough to feel each other's breath. Suddenly, any doubt the two had, simply disappeared. Now they only looked at each other with one feeling. Passion.

Three seconds later, they kissed. Slowly, they relaxed into each other's arms, slowly pressing closer and closer together. Soon, they started getting a bit more lewd. They were thankful that no one was seeing this. They weren't ready to show off this just yet.

Unfortunately for these two, the man from earlier was watching, entranced by the sight in front of his eyes. 'Dear me… no wonder this guy likes these two.' he thought.

Then suddenly, he remembered the side effects of the potion he had given to the sleeping Cameron. He needed to leave. Now.

So he did just that. Quickly, he jumped out the hole in the wall, and quickly replaced the blocks exactly as they had been. 'The perfect crime. No one saw me, and I got some nice memories to look back on.' he thought smugly. Quickly, he disappeared into the woods.

Oh, he would be back. He always come back. But for now, his job was done. He only wished he could stay back and watch the fireworks…

 _Susie POV…_

'Oh Notch, this girl is a good kisser.'

That was my thoughts as I was kissing Snowy. It's no wonder why Cameron liked her so much.

For a long time, at least ten minutes, Snowy and I did nothing but make out, only pausing for the occasional breath.

Then, we heard something. It sounded like something hit the ground. We soon dismissed it as nothing, returning to kissing passionately. Five seconds later the sound played again, louder this time. I looked around, but I didn't hear anything in that time, so I once again pushed it off. But ten seconds later, the loud bump was heard again, louder than ever.

"Geez, what's going on back there?" I said irritatedly. Snowy looked mad that this was getting interrupted. I got up and opened the door, poking my head out. Nothing seemed to have fallen over.

Then, Cameron quite literally jumped out of his chair. I nearly hit my head on the door in surprise. My anger quickly turned to concern for my love. I ran out the door, leaving Snowy behind.

"Hey, where are you…" she called, before seeing where I was running to. She followed right after me, probably faster.

"Cameron? Are you alright?" I asked, seeing him in the chair. His eye were still closed, but he was sweating hard. He kept on moving in his chair.

My eyes opened wide. Only one thing made him this scared.

"Snowy, we have to wake him up." I said, my voice dead serious. Snowy looked surprised at my tone, but I didn't care. I needed Cameron to wake up.

"Cameron! It's the nightmare again! Wake up!" I called out, shaking his shoulder. He started squirming with my touch. 'Oh no… it must be really vivid this time…' I thought.

Snowy was trying her best to get Cameron up as well. She was shaking his other arm, yelling out, "Master! Wake up! Please!"

We tried, and tried, and tried. But three minutes passed by, and nothing would wake him. Even getting desperate and pinching his arm did nothing.

"Maybe…" Snowy started, fear and panic visible in her face. "Maybe if I try this…" Her hand moved up to Cameron's face, and she pinched his nose. I instantly understood, and covered his mouth. Of course, we weren't going to suffocate him. If he started changing colors, then we would let go.

His face shook even more, trying to escape something in his dreams. But soon, he ran out of breath. Now, the way he was shaking… he was coming back.

"Let go, now!" I said, seeing his face starting to turn purple. We both released at the same time, and at that moment, his eyes shot open as wide as they would go, and he nearly tipped the whole chair over on himself.

For the count of ten, no one made a sound, save from the heavy breathing Cameron was making.

Then, I stepped in close to him, gently putting a hand on his arm. "C-Cameron? Are… you okay?" I said, my voice a bit shaky. He didn't respond at first, still getting his breathing under control.

"Master?" Snowy said, equally worried, walking over to my side and kneeling down to look at Cameron. Slowly, his head turned to look at us. Only, his eyes were closed again.

And then, when his face is right in front of us, his eyes open. What I saw filled me with more fear than anything ever had in my entire life. Even the fear I felt when drowning didn't come close to this.

His eyes… they didn't have any color to them. They were gray, instead of his normal brown. But what made me scared of them was the way… the way they bored right into me. It felt like he was looking right at my very soul.

He sat there. No one moved.

Then, I said, my voice shaking, "C-C-Cameron… are you… o-okay?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he turned away, and simply leaned back into the chair. This… this was all wrong. Something had happened to my Cameron.

Snowy was afraid too, but for another reason. "*sniff sniff*... I smell something… something wrong." she said.

"What?" I asked, my eyes not leaving Cameron.

"It smells… like someone else was here. Someone… someone did something to him." Snowy said, her voice full of panic. She stood on leaned over Cameron. "Master? Can… can you hear me?"

Faster than either of us could process, Cameron's arms shot forward and roughly pushed Snowy away, hard enough to knock her over. The look on Snowy's face… she looked as if a part of her had died on the inside. Neither of us said anything for a second. 'He… he would never in a million years try to hurt either of us. Something happened.' I thought, trying to think of who would do this.

Me and Snowy tried all day to get Cameron back to normal. And the next day. And a third. And each day that passed, he seemed to lose even more color to him. After his eyes went his whole face. Then his hands. Soon, he was gray all over, even his clothes, which we didn't dare change, for fear of getting hurt, turned gray.

All of my medical books revealed nothing to me. None of the normal diseases and curses I knew of, or the books told me about, matched what was happening to Cameron. By the fourth day, I knew something had to be done, or I was afraid we would lose Cameron entirely.

"What are we going to do?" Snowy said, after giving him some water. Surprisingly, he would still drink water if we gave him some, but he would always turn down food. Sometimes he would even get violent with us, lashing out with a shove or a slap. We had to do something…

"Gah… come on…" I said under my breath, looking in one of my books for something, ANYTHING to help.

"Potion… curse… disease… GAH! Nothing is helping!" I shouted, slamming the book closed. Snowy jumped at the sudden reaction out of me. I couldn't help it. The one person in the world who I treasured most of all, and I couldn't find anything to save him. I backed up into the wall, and slid down it, putting my hands in my face.

Tears welled up in my eyes. There… there was nothing I could do. This was beyond my help. A small sob escaped me, and for a moment, I thought there wasn't anything that could save my Cameron.

Then Snowy put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey… don't cry. There's gotta be something we can do. We just have to look harder." she said. I looked up, and was surprised. I saw… confidence. Sure, I could also see lot sadness in her eyes, but she had faith in me. Faith in us.

Suddenly, I felt a whole lot more motivated. "You're… you're right. Let's keep looking." I said, grabbing onto the wall to stand.

Snowy's eye got wide. "Nononono! That's…" she said, but didn't finish fast enough. I realized the wall I grabbed was actually a rather tall stack of books I made while looking. It was too late, the stack was already falling over.

 _BAM!_

 **(Quality sound effects here in this story.)**

In a second, books were scattered all over the living room. One had landed painfully on my hand, while another had hit Snowy's foot.

"Oww…" I said, rubbing my poor hand. Snowy was on the ground, rubbing her foot, wincing.

I was about so say that I was sorry, but then I noticed something. The book that had hit my hand caught my eye. It was one of the many books I had tossed to the side after seeing the title. But as to not waste time, I only read the first couple of words, so this one didn't get my full attention.

Now, I grabbed it and reread the title. _Monsters and Other Species: Friendly or Foe._

I opened it and searched around. That's when my eyes fell on a certain entry.

 _Water Spirit: Nature's Best Nurse._

 _Believed to be shrinking in population, water spirits are said to be one of the best healers in the world. They have a seemingly endless knowledge of everything, harmful to helpful. Many people have said to have been helped by these friendly creatures. However, for unknown reasons, the amount of water spirits have decreased over the years. Whether it be drought or some other cause, many people, man and beast, have been trying to help bring back these helpers._

 _Most people believe that water spirits live in any water source, be it any river or lake. However, it has been proven that water spirits only live in fresh water sources, which are more common than most think. The best places to find fresh water are mostly in extremely dense forest areas, where salt would have drained away into the soil years ago. This is why many of the first human settlement were in dense forests, such as jungles. If the water source is large enough, there will almost always be at least one spirit there, waiting for another injured soul to help._

 _As mentioned before, water spirits are extremely kind and will help anyone, human or otherwise. No one is certain why, but the most accepted idea is that water spirits never wanted to be bringers of violence, so they were one of the few who never attack humans or monsters._

 _The only downside these mysterious beings have is that if they do not stay within a large enough water source for any given time, they will not be able to live very long. This is why there is almost never a water spirit close to a town. Rarely are there any fresh water sources in towns and cities, so that's why most are found in thick forests._

"AHA!" I shouted, making Snowy jump a foot off the ground. I reread the whole passage again. "This… this is it!"

"What is?" Snowy asked, looking at the book. She read it, her eyes getting wider and wider. "That… That will have to work! But… but where would we find one?"

"I… I don't know." I said, my good mood becoming sad again. Where in the world would we find a water spirit?

Snowy looked thoughtful. "Maybe… maybe I can find one? I mean… I've been to the ocean before, so... I think I can smell if water is fresh or not…" she said, her voice unsure.

"Well… it's our best bet. We need to get Cameron back to normal." I said, looking over at Cameron. He seemed to be even more gray than before.

"Y-yes. I want my master back." Snowy said, tearing up at the sight of Cameron.

"Well… first things first, we need to get him up." I said.

Which was a task in itself, to say the least. Whatever happened to Cameron, it made him not want to move from that very spot. Thankfully, it was early in the morning, so we had quite a lot of time before nightfall.

Every time we came close, he batted our hands away. We tried almost everything, from trying to dupe him out to working together. But eventually, with some rope, we managed to make him get on his feet. After he got up, he just kinda… stood there. I didn't know why only now he wasn't fighting us, or struggling against the bonds.

"Um… Cameron?" I said hesitantly. He looked over to me… and surprisingly, he walked over. I was confused, but then I tried something.

"Snowy, go over to the other end of the room. Call him." I said quietly to Snowy. She nodded, and did as she was told. Cameron walked promptly over to her.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about getting him there. Seems he will just follow us." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. Me and Snowy got our stuff ready, and then, with a gray Cameron behind us, walked out with Snowy in the lead, sniffing for fresh water.

'Oh… hold on Cameron. I know you're still in there. Just hang on a little longer…' I thought, as together, we all stepped into the nearby forest.

 **And that's the end. Sorry for ending here, but I really don't want to be typing this chapter much longer. The next chapter will be just as long, if not longer than this one, okay?**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! A little love scene, followed by danger, followed by MORE love, followed by sadness, and finally, hope. I'm sure you all will be satisfied with how this next chapter will play out.**

 **As always, if any of you awesome people want to play Minecraft with me, PM me your MC username, what server, and when. Or if you want to join my private server, PM me with the same things, just ask if you can join. Until next chapter guys, stay awesome.**


	20. A Fate Worse Than Death (Part 2)

**Happy new year, you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter to my story! I hope you all still enjoy this story, and the way it's all going down. I never thought anything I type on this site would get this much attention.**

 **Anyway, let's get back to the story. We're not getting any younger here.**

Chapter 20: A Fate Worse Than Death (Part 2)

 _Susie POV..._

'Man, these woods are huge.'

That was my only thought after spending three hours in these woods. Snowy was walking along with me, looking ready to pass out. I was too, but I felt like we were close. Behind us, a gray Cameron followed silently. Every time I glanced over to look at him, it made me want to cry.

'No… Don't cry. Crying will not help you. This isn't a fairy tale from one of your books.' I thought, steeling myself again.

But I knew that if we didn't take a break soon, we would pass out from exhaustion. Thankfully, we walked right into a clearing, with a tree that had fallen over right in the middle. That is where we rested for a while, which my legs were very thankful about. I gave Snowy some food, saying, "Here. Eat this. Gotta keep our energy up for as long as possible."

Snowy scarfed down the food, thanking me for it. "Do you smell anything yet?" I asked, for probably the millionth time now.

She just shook her head, saying, "No, I don't smell any water close by. I wish we would find it."

I could relate. We had been wandering in this forest for hours now, and we had only seen two fresh water sources, both of which were very small. 'There has to be at least one. Just one is all we need.' I thought miserably to myself.

After a thirty minute break, we got up, ready to get moving again. "There's got to be a large amount of fresh water in this forest somewhere…" I said, wrapping another ribbon around one of the tree. We knew we'd need some way to tell where we were going, so that was our method of choice.

Another hour passed, and I was afraid of what we would do if it got dark out. We didn't have a shelter way out here, and it was even worse by the fact that Cameron was out of commission right now.

Just as I was about to say that we should try again tomorrow, however, Snowy picked up a scent. "I… think I found something. Yeah… that's definitely fresh water…" she said, trying to find which direction it was. Suddenly, I became ready to keep going.

"Where is it?" I said, my voice quiet. Even if it was day out, we still didn't want to make a lot of noise, in case some other beast roamed in this forest. For a while, Snowy didn't say anything, just sniffed around, trying to find the source.

"That way!" she said, pointing exactly north, according to my compass. I didn't see anything other than trees, but still, we had to try.

Again, we trudged forward. Only, Cameron started slowing down, becoming stuck on little things. Twice, I had to grab him to stop him from walking right into a rose bush. Eventually, he got to the point where… he seemed to be giving up. Only by grabbing him and pulling him along would he go anywhere.

The worse part was as we were climbing a steep hill. We couldn't go around it, because we didn't want to waste time. But ever try pulling a person who isn't trying to help up a hill? It's not fun. By the time we all got to the top, I was ready to pass out. Snowy looked a little better, but that's not saying much.

The top of the hill did give us a pretty nice view of our surroundings. From up here, I could see everything for at least a couple of miles. It was almost all trees everywhere, save for a few patches where trees might have fallen or something. But what caught my eye was a larger patch than the rest, maybe another hundred or two blocks from where we sat. And trying to focus on it… I was met with light reflections. Only one thing could have been making that. 'Water… that's where we have to go.

Even though going down was much easier than going up, still, by the time we got there, Cameron had gotten heavier than a pile of sandbags, so Snowy had to help me carry Cameron, or else we wouldn't make it.

Panting for breath, we turned a corner from behind a tree, and…

There it was. A water lake about the size of a typical pool. A small stream of water ran into it, filling it slowly with more water. Slowly, we approached, hoping to dear Notch that this was finally it. My arms were about to give in from practically carrying Cameron for this long.

We reached the water's edge, where I gently laid Cameron down. His breathing was slower than before. If this wasn't a viable spot for a spirit to be… then all this would have been for nothing.

Snowy and I went over and got on our hands and knees, looking into the water. I so badly wanted to just plunge my head in to cool off, but I didn't think that would be very good if a spirit did live here.

For a minute, nothing happened. Snowy and I were only looking at our reflections.

Then, a voice called out to us.

" _Hello. Have you come to seek treatment?"_

It made me jump out loud. I looked around to see who had spoken, until I realized that the voice… had came out of the water. I looked back in, saying, "Um… yes? Are you… a water spirit?"

The voice laughed. It was a soothing female voice, clear as running water. I felt myself relaxing. " _Of course I am. I am a healer, in this world of hate and war."_

"Then…" Snowy said, probably feeling silly talking to the water. "Can… can you show yourself? Please, ma'am…"

The voice's next words had a hint of surprise in them. " _Oh goodness… I haven't shown myself, have I? My mistake."_

The water gently rippled where we looked into it. Suddenly, another woman appeared in the water's reflection, right between me and Snowy. Surprised, I looked over, but no one was there, she only was in the water. Snowy looked at me, her face holding equal surprise.

"There. Not as awkward anymore?" she said, smiling at our surprised faces.

"Y-yes, ma'am. We… we need your help. Badly." I said.

"Hmmm…" the spirit said, analyzing us two. "If I may ask, why did you two come all the way out here? Other than being rather tired, both of you have no illness as far as I can see."

"Well, see, we didn't come here about us. We came here about our friend. He's lying on the ground right here, suffering from… I don't know what. We were hoping you would know." I explained, my voice cracking a bit at the end.

"Hold on. One second…" the spirit said, before disappearing. For a moment, all was calm.

Then the water rippled. Slowly at first, but soon became rather frenzied. For the center of the pool rose a beautiful woman, a gentle smile on her face. Her entire body was a bright blue. Her dress rippled in waves, her hair swayed in a non-existent breeze… it looked as though she was the embodiment of water itself.

"I am Vivianna, a friendly face in this world of torment." she said, her voice only now striking me as calming.

 **(FYI: I choose Vivianna for a reason. See if you can find out why.)**

I was about to say something, but then Vivianna noticed Cameron, looking almost dead by the lake. "Oh gracious me! What happened?" she asked, moving over to where we were.

"I… I don't know, to be honest. One minute he was fine, but then… he became this." I said, my throat getting tighter. Cameron was still breathing, but it was still very slow.

"Hmm…" Vivianna said, looking over Cameron. She looked at him from all over, perplexed. Then, a thought came to her mind. It was obviously something she didn't like, because her face went the smallest bit paler. Gently, she reached out to touch his face, maybe to check his temperature or something. But the second she did, her hand pulled away, as if she had been shocked.

"What happened?" Snowy asked, with concern for both Cameron and Vivianna. Apparently, whatever had happened to Cameron, it really was beyond bad.

"I should've known…" Vivianna said, her voice becoming soft. When she saw my questioning look, she explained. "This poor soul here… he has been cursed with one of the most terrible afflictions in the known world. In fact… I've only seen this once before."

"What is it? Please, tell us!" I said desperately. The water spirit let out a small sigh, before she spoke again.

"This curse… it is one of the most evil and vile ones out there. It can only be given if one drinks a certain potion, but even I don't know how it is made. The effects of the potion are, well, different. First, after ingesting the potion, the victim will begin to have nightmares. But not just any nightmares, there worse, most powerful nightmares, multiplied in fear and, in some cases, pain."

I instantly knew exactly what his nightmares had been about. They must have been about that terrible night, six years ago. But… there must have been more to it than that.

"Then…" Vivianna continued. "The victim will wake up, either naturally or if forced to. But they… they are not themselves anymore. The horrible visions that they have seen will make them shells of their former selves. Sometimes, they become insane, replaying what they have seen over and over again, for the rest of their time. Other times, the victim simply shuts down, not responding to any sort of stimulus. Talking, moving… nothing. They simply don't do anything."

Snowy and I looked at each other. "That one… that one kinda matches him. But… he did make some responses before… like he accepted water if we gave him some." I said.

Vivianna nodded. "Some people can be stronger than others. Some even can fully remain like they were after the potion kicks in. But no matter what, they… they can't return back to normal. Their fate is to spend the rest of their life, if they live that long, simply… just a shell."

I was shocked. "So… so you're saying… there's nothing… nothing we can do? We… just have to let him…"

"No no no." Vivianna said, still checking over Cameron. "There is a cure, but it's… well… not exactly the safest. If done incorrectly…" she didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to.

I looked down at Cameron. At his gray husk of a body. I knew that somewhere, somewhere deep inside, he was in there. And I wasn't going to let go of that part of him.

"Can you help him?" I said, my voice full of determination. Vivianna looked at us, and her eyes looked into mine. After a second, she spoke again.

"You'll have to help me." she said. I expected that. And I was ready. Ready to do anything to help my Cameron.

"Of course." I said, but I also realized that Snowy spoke at the exact same time. We traded one last glance with each other, before nodding. "Yes, of course we will help."

"Well, then…" Vivianna said, rubbing her hands together in a thoughtful way. "Let's get started. We don't have all day."

And so we began. Vivianna began pulling numerous things from the lake, from herbs to bottles to many, many other complicated contraptions. She began working, telling us to start mixing, pounding, shaking, stirring, and many more things. For a time, it felt like we were getting nowhere. Cameron seemed to be getting grayer and grayer by the minute.

After about ten minutes had passed us, a complex looking array of different medical herbs and spices, almost all of which had been ground to dust, were all getting poured into a giant cauldron, big enough for someone to take a bath in. Vivianna carefully stirred, every now and then changing pace. Somehow, she was able to boil the whole thing using only her hand, which looked like it was boiling itself.

"I have power over the water that makes up me. If needed, I could freeze this in five seconds, and then make it boil again in ten." she said. For a few moments, she continued to stir, adding more ingredients every now and then.

"Now… this is the most difficult part. In order for this to be completely effective, I need the most complex ingredient of all. This is completely up to you if you include this or not, but it will have a much better chance of working if you do." Vivianna said.

"What… what do you need?" Snowy asked.

"Well…" Vivianna said, thinking about what she was going to say. "I need something from one of you two. But not just anything. In order to counter the darkness in your friend, we need something that can fight it. Something to dispel the fear and anger in his heart."

"So… you need…" I said, thinking about what she was saying.

"I know it sounds rather corny," Vivianna said, "But this needs love. Something from one of you that truly shows that you care. Anything should work, a piece of hair, an old tooth, anything. As long as you care enough in your heart, it will work."

I pulled out one of the many hairs in my head, looking at it. 'If… if just a strand will save Cameron… then I'd give all my hair, anything. I just want my Cameron back to the way he always is. Funny, caring, compassionate… everything that makes him… him.' I thought.

I reached out to hand Vivianna the strand. But Snowy, who must have had the same idea, reached out with one of her own hair strands. For a second, we were both confused.

Then, Vivianna put the pieces together. "Ah… so that's why. You both care. More than anything in the world, huh? I see…" she said, slowly taking both strands and dropping them in.

The liquid in the pot violently shook. I instinctively backed up. Snowy followed likewise. The contents shone bright for the longest time.

Then, it dimmed. The potion now looked like… a soft pink color. "It is done." was all Vivianna said. She dipped a large bottle into it, and handed it to me. "Please, pour this down your friend's mouth. This will save him… if we did this right."

I took the bottle and moved to Cameron. My hands were shaking, as I literally held his life in hands. If this didn't work, if something had gone wrong…

I took another look. My lover's face was empty, almost lifeless. Seeing that… made me angry. I should have to see my love in so much pain anymore. No longer pausing, I gently opened his mouth, and poured everything the bottle had in it down his throat.

For a second, nothing happened. I felt as if we did it wrong. That Cameron wasn't going to make it.

Then… he softly glowed. Slowly at first, but soon became a shiny bright beacon of energy.

Slowly, the color returned to him. The light glowed brighter and brighter, until, it gently faded away, leaving Cameron, back to his normal color.

"Did… did it work?" Snowy asked, her voice a bit in awe.

Then, he stirred.

 _Cameron POV…_

'Just give up. You're useless. You failed to save your own parents. What makes you so special?'

That voice, and many, many more, floated through my head. Circling me constantly, never stopping. The image played over and over again in my head, of the moment the creeper exploded that day. Then, time jumped ahead again, and I saw Susie and Snowy, the two who made my life so much better, suddenly turn on me. They stabbed me with a kitchen knife, eyes glowing red.

"We don't care about you. You're our prey!" they said, stabbing me again, and again. Of course, that was just one image. Other times, they gave me over to other monsters, or put me in a locked room with no food, or simply clocked me over the head with a frying pan. But no matter how it happened, the same feeling of despair and fear plagued my heart. I first tried to fight back. But soon, I felt like just… giving up. Susie and Snowy didn't love me anymore. To them, I was just a punching bag.

"...r…" I think I heard. I couldn't tell anymore. I was too wrapped up in sadness.

"Cam...ron." the voice said again, a bit more clearly. Some of the other voices died on the spot. Others simply started getting softer.

"Cameron… wake up. Please…" the voice pleaded to me. It was Susie's voice, I realized with a start. 'N-no… Susie doesn't love me anymore… no one does.' I thought, my mind ready to give up.

"No… Cameron, please, wake up. This is all a nightmare. Come with me. Be free." the voice said, much louder by now.

"Yes… please wake up… Master." said another voice. Snowy's voice. "I… want you back. Please… wake up."

"N-no… you both hate me now… I can't…" I said, trying to tune out the voices. But I still could hear them.

"Wake up. Please. We love you. Don't give up. Wake up." the voices said, at the same time. Slowly, my mind began to piece together everything.

"I… I don't want to… I…" I said, not even knowing what I was saying at this point. But then, the darkness warped again, but this time, no image of pain or torture showed. But instead, Susie and Snowy, both of them normal, wrapped their arms around me. Around us, we were in our house. The fire crackled in the background, light shone in from the windows, it was… everything the way it should be. Calm, happy, peaceful.

"Please… if you still care about us… then wake up." Susie said, placing her forehead on mine.

"Come back to us… leave this hell. We want you back… Master. Don't leave us." Snowy said, hugging herself into my chest tightly.

"I…" I said, emotions flooding me again. But before I could say anything else, a door, made entirely of light, appeared before me. I knew if I wanted to go back… go back to my life, with those two by my side… then I had to go forward.

I parted from the two, who cast me gentle smiles. "I… I want my life back." I said, running full sprint into the door.

Suddenly, it felt as if I was leaving behind the pain and confusion. I felt… free. I continued to run forward, wanting to come back…

And then… black.

'I… them… what…' I thought.

Then I heard a voice. "Did… did it work?"

Snowy's voice.

I tried to raise my arms. Move my legs. Do something. But I was dizzy. I felt as if I hadn't moved in years.

"Cameron?" said a voice. This time, it was Susie. That's when a rush of energy filled me, and I slowly opened my eyes.

Both Susie and Snowy looked over me, their faces white as chalk. I realized I was on the ground, on my back. I looked at one, then the other, before saying the only thing I could say in this kind of situation. "Umm… hi?"

Faster than I could keep up with, both of them suddenly bear hugged me, tears streaming down their faces. "Cameron! You're back! I… I missed you… so much…" said a sobbing Susie, barely able to contain herself.

"Master! Master! I… you're back! I…" Snowy said, unable to say anything else without totally breaking down.

"Whoa… what… when…" I said, really confused. "What is going on?"

"You… you don't remember?" Susie said, pulling back from me, tears still streaming down in buckets down her cheeks.

"N-no… last thing I remember is falling asleep in the house, next to you two… what happened?" I said, finding enough energy to sit up. Nothing around me looked familiar, this had to have been deep forest.

"You… you had something… really bad happen to you, Master." Snowy said, looking as though I had been gone forever. "You… you almost looked dead."

"Dead? What?" I said, more confused than ever. But at that moment, I noticed a woman, right in the middle of a pond, looking down happily at me. "Ummmm…. what is happening? Who is that?" I said, pointing.

The woman gently laughed, understanding my confusion at once. "Oh do not be afraid. I simply did as they asked me to: helped you get back to normal."

"Ummm… what?" I said again, still confused as to what the hell was going on.

By now, the girls had calmed down enough to actually talk to me, and explain everything. As they relived the past few days, my mind became more and more shocked.

"S-so… let me get this straight." I said, ten minutes later. "I somehow drank some weird potion, shut myself down, and then you two somehow got me here, and with the help of… Vivianna? Right, Vivianna here, you two brought me back from almost death?"

"That about sums it up." Susie said, who finally stopped crying, but still looked like she would start up again at any given time.

I couldn't believe it. These girls went through some much, all for me. Even when I was on the brink of death, they… they stuck with me, and somehow, made it all better. I… I didn't know what to say.

"I…" I started, but was interrupted as Susie kissed me full of the lips, as though she hadn't done this in a long time. I realized they probably hadn't.

"Master…" Snowy said, tears still in her eyes as she gently hugged me. So many emotions were fighting inside me, I didn't even know where to start. As soon as Susie released me, Snowy took over, kissing me as well. The both of them… they needed this. I knew that much. I caused them so much grief… tears started to well up in my eyes now.

When Snowy parted from me, I was ready to burst. "I… I'm…" I started, but was unable to get anything more out before my sadness got the better of me. Tears streamed down my face, as those two wonderful girls simply hugged me and let me cry my eyes out.

When I finally stopped, five whole minutes had passed by. "I'm.. I'm sorry… to both of you… I made you feel so much grief again… I can't stand making you sad…" I said.

"Oh, Cameron…" Susie said, hugging me tighter. "It's not your fault in the slightest. It's ours for just leaving you alone when you fell asleep. It's not your fault."

"Yeah. Don't beat yourself up over it, Master." chimed in Snowy. "What happened happened, and now, everything is better again."

I couldn't help but still feel guilty about making them feel so much grief, but they told me they didn't blame me, so I tried to let it go, at least for now. Another few minutes passed, in which we all just kinda relaxed for a while.

After a while, I realized that it was getting late. "Oh crap… are we going to be able to get home in time?" I asked. That sent the girls in a panic.

"OH NO! WE'RE SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME!" Snowy cried out, realizing everything.

"Hold on." said Vivianna. I jumped. I almost forgot that she was still there, watching everything.

"Yeah?" I said, worried about how far home was.

"Cameron, was it?" she asked. I nodded. "Okay, well, Cameron, I'll let you know, that that was the most tender thing I have ever seen. In all my time of being out here, I've helped many people, monsters, every one of them. And they've all come and gone, but they've all been made better by what I cured them of.

"But today, today was different. As today, I saw something, I don't think I've ever seen. Never before, has any patient of mine, had two friends as good as these. Two people, who show this much love to one person. I find that special." she said.

I blushed at that. "Well… I think I kinda just got really lucky. That a guy like me could go on and make my life better." I said.

"Well, if you want…" Vivianna said, sounding like this was going to be tough for her. "I could help you."

I was confused. "Wait, help with what?"

"I've… I've seen the nightmares you have had. You two, remember when I tried to touch him, but pulled away?" she asked. The other two nodded, curious about where this was going as well. "Well… when I did… I peeked into his nightmares."

"Oh…" I said, realizing what she must have seen. "You… you must know then, why these two… these two have helped me. So much."

"Correct. And that is why…" Vivianna continued, "If you want, I would help you be able to… ah, not have to fear those memories as much."

"You mean… you can help me deal with the pain I've dealt with for years?" I asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yes… but only if you want me to." Vivianna said.

"O-of course I want to! I… I don't want to have to think back about that night every time I think about the past." I said, my voice cracking the smallest bit. Vivianna understood, and conjured up a small table out of water.

"Then… please lay down on the table here." she said. But she also saw Susie and Snowy's concerned faces, because she added. "Do not worry. Your friend here will be perfectly fine after this. Nothing bad will happen."

Clearly those two were still nervous about this, but they allowed me to be separate from their arms. I layed down on the table, nerves creeping back into me now. "Are you sure this is safe?" I asked one last time.

"I wouldn't do it if it wasn't." was all Vivianna said. "Now, close your eyes."

'Ohhh kaaay?' I thought. 'Why does she want my eyes to be closed?' But I dismissed it. I felt her hand touch mine, and for a moment, nothing else happened.

Then, her hand felt warm. Slowly, her hand left mine, but it left me with a feeling of contentedness. My whole body felt warm, as if I chugged a gallon of hot chocolate. It almost felt as if a wave of calm rolled over me, making me relax fully.

Then, the warm feeling slowly faded. No other noise was heard. Then, " _You can open your eyes and stand up now. It is done."_

I opened my eyes, but… something wasn't right. Now, I was on the ground again. I was sure there was a table of water here just a second ago. I looked back over to Susie and Snowy. They looked confused as well.

"What… what happened?" I asked. They just shrugged. Until Snowy noticed something.

"Ummm… Master?" she said, pointing at me. "Did… did you always have blue eyes?"

"Huh?" I said, looking into the water, which was clear as glass by now. Everything looked normal, but my eyes… 'Weren't they… brown?' I thought, my panic rising.

" _Relax. That is normal. Just give it a second."_ Vivianna's voice called out. Slowly, my eyes returned back to normal, much to my confusion.

"Ummm… no, my eyes are brown Snowy." I said, turning back to my friends. They both looked confused, but then it gave way back to happiness that I was okay.

"Cameron…" Susie said, hugging me softly. "I… I missed you… so much."

"Me too…" Snowy joined in, hugging me as well. "I… I wanted my Master back."

"I… I'm so sorry." I said, hanging my head down sadly. "I caused you both so much pain… I can't do anything to make it better."

In response, Susie gently kissed my cheek, and then said, "Stop saying that. Just by you being here now, all better again, makes everything better. Nothing will ever change my mind."

Snowy was too busy hugging herself into my chest to say anything. I imagined she would say about the same things.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Just… I'm sorry. I'm not taking that back. Now, let's thank Vivianna and get going. Home is a long way, judging from how you two acted earlier."

Those two agreed with me, so I went back over and knelt at the water's edge again. "Vivianna? You in there?"

No response. The water remained as still as ever.

"Vivianna? Hello?" I said again.

Still no response.

"Vivianna?" I said, getting the tiniest bit annoyed. 'Why isn't she answering?'

" _Because maybe Vivianna isn't in the water right now._ " Vivianna's voice called out again. I looked around, and then, out of nowhere, there she was, sitting down right next to me on one of the large rocks next to the pool. She smiled gently at me, seeing my confusion.

"Ummm… girls?" I said, pointing. Susie and Snowy looked at where I was… but their faces showed only confusion.

"What? That rock? What about it?" Susie said.

"Vivianna. Don't you see her sitting on it?" I asked.

"N-no… Master, are you alright?" Snowy said, walking over to me with concern in her face again.

" _Yes, Cameron, are you alright? Does a spirit got your tongue?"_ Vivianna said, smirking at me. I was confused at hell.

"What… what is going on? She's right there on the rock." I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. Susie looked at me with concern again.

"Cameron… there's nothing on that rock. Did you hit your head or something?" she said, feeling for bumps in my head.

"No, I'm not joking here. Vivianna? What's going on?" I said, attention focused on the spirit right now.

Vivianna gently laughed. " _Oh my, this is rather funny. Cameron, you are the only one who can hear me. The only one who can even see me."_

"But…" I said, trying to piece together what the hell is going on.

" _Ahahaha! Oh goodness me, I didn't think I'd be making you this confused!"_ Vivianna said, standing up. Suddenly, she stood up, walked over to me, and held out her hand. " _Here. Take my hand and I'll explain everything."_

Not exactly sure where this was going, I nevertheless took her hand like she told me to. Susie and Snowy watched me with eyes full of concern. "Master? Why are you holding your hand out?"

"Hold on for a second." I said, watching Vivianna closely. She grinned at me, a friendly, silly smile. I didn't know why, but all of the sudden, everything clicked. Without warning, I broke out in a cold sweat. There was no way…

'Vi-Vi-Vivianna? A-are you… up there?' I thought, instead of talking. Her smile grew even bigger.

" _Ahhh, now you understand."_ she said, dropping her hand to her side. The grin on her face was playful, but I wasn't really in the mood to follow her example.

"O-o-o-oh dear Notch…" I stuttered out. Susie and Snowy noticed all of this.

"What? What's happening!?" Susie asked me.

"Oh no…" I said, panic rising rapidly. "I've got a water spirit stuck in my head."

 **And that's all I have time for. Sorry, but gotta cut it off here. This chapter is getting really long by now. Don't worry, the next chapter will explain everything. I wish I could've gone into more detail in this chapter, but I'm going past my word count by now.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. So now Cameron has a water spirit in his head. There's going to be all sorts of opportunities that open with this plot point! I just hope you all are okay with this.**

 **But for now, this is the last chapter I will post for a while on this story. See, I've spent so much time on this story, I haven't gotten anything done on my other story. So for the time being, I've focusing on my other story. Don't worry, I'll still work on this one. I just want to get more chapters in for both stories.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me your MC username, what server, and when. Or if you want to join my private server, PM me with the same things, just ask if you can join. Until next chapter guys, stay awesome, and of course, happy new year!**


	21. New Powers, New Rules

**Hello you awesome people out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter in my fanfic! When we last left off, Cameron had just found out that Vivianna, the water spirit that healed him from almost certain death, has now taken residence in Cameron's head. Let's get back in and see the aftermath, eh?**

 **Oh yeah, and I hope you all still enjoy my story and all that. Let's go!**

Chapter 21: New Powers, New Rules

At first, what I had said before didn't immediately click with the girls. They looked at me in confusion, but then it processed, and they started looking at me, and they looked, well, scared.

"She's… inside your head? Cameron… are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?" Susie asked, once again looking for a bump on my head.

"Wha- yes I'm sure! She's in my head! I know it!" I cried out, realizing that it did sound pretty insane.

Vivianna, or a least, and image only I could see, started giggling at me. " _Oh my, this is rather amusing. Now, what secrets can I find in here…"_ she said, suddenly disappearing.

'Oh no you don't! Get out of my head!' I thought quickly, starting to sweat at the thought of her going through my head.

" _You're no fun. Fine, I'll look later."_ Vivianna replied, reappearing back into view. I sighed in relief, which the girls saw.

"Master? Are you sure you're okay?" Snowy said, gripping my arm.

I was about to say something back to her, but then, something happened. It felt like someone pushed a button in my head, making me relax fully. My eyes gently closed, and I felt very calm. Very peaceful.

"Cameron! What happened?!" Susie called out, shaking me. I opened my eyes and looked at her again. But… she recoiled away after seeing my face.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" I asked, looking at myself. Everything looked normal, which confused me a bit as to why Susie would back up a little.

Then Snowy gasped. "Master! Your eyes!" she called out. I opened my bag and looked through it, and grabbed the mirror again.

Looking into it, indeed Snowy was right. My eyes, instead of brown, once again looked blue, almost like the sea. 'What… what happened? Why are they blue?' I asked myself, before a laugh was heard. Vivianna.

" _Ahahahaha! Those two! Their faces!"_ she managed to get out, she was laughing too hard. I quickly asked her, the calm feeling fading slowly, why my eyes looked blue.

" _Ahaha… yes… your eyes. They change color when I use magic on you while I'm in here. In my case, they turn blue. What you just felt… well, it's one of the ways I can help you. If you ever get stressed out, I can help you relax, even help you sleep."_ she said. My mind was swimming with all kinds of questions, but I didn't want to ask right now. The sun was slowly descending, we needed to get home quickly.

"Right. Okay girls, we need to get home. It's going to get dark soon." I said, standing up. Susie looked at me with the most concern I've seen in a long time.

"Are… are you sure, absolutely sure, that you're okay?" she asked me one more time.

"Of course I am. I'm just… a bit dizzy right now." I said, before looking around. "Now, how do we get home from here?"

"Um, that way." Susie and Snowy said at the same time, pointing in different directions. Then they tried again, only to point in different directions again. 'Oh no… are we really lost?' I thought, my panic rising.

" _Relax. You're going to get home. I can help."_ Vivianna spoke in my mind. 'Oh yeah? How?' I thought sarcastically.

In response, I felt my face move a little. It… it just happened. Like… I was commanded to. Slowly, my eyes fell on the water.

" _I can give you some control over water. Is there any water close to your house?"_ Vivianna asked. 'Um, yeah, there's a lake about three minutes from where our house is… wait, don't water spirits kinda need water to live? How are you even alive in their?'

" _I'll tell you later. Right now, tell me. Do you have any memories about that lake? Any at all?"_ she asked, brushing off my question. 'Um, yeah, I went swimming there about maybe… a week or two ago by now?' I thought.

For a second, Vivianna didn't make any noise. Then, she spoke again. " _Okay, now, focus. Imagine a giant hole in the lake in front of you. One that leads right to the lake by your house. If you do it right, I can make you a way to get you there."_

'That's… hard to believe.' I thought, but I did as I was told. I imagined a giant hole in front of me, one leading us right back to the lake at home. The girls watched me the whole time, looking concerned. "Cameron?" Susie called over.

"Hold on." I said, quieting her. Something… something was tugging at the back of my mind. As if…

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. I kept concentrating on the imaginary hole. For a second, nothing else happened, and I was about to start yelling in my mind at Vivianna.

Then, Snowy gasped. "M-Master! Your eyes! Their… shining!" she said. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to do. Slowly, I raised my hands. I pointed them at the water, and suddenly, they started glowing.

A ball of water slowly formed between my hands, getting larger. Susie and Snowy looked shocked, but they didn't say anything. I was pretty shocked myself, but I didn't dare break concentration now. Once the ball reached the size of about a normal block, I released it, sending it straight into the water in front of me.

Where the ball had hit, a vortex appeared, swirling to seemingly nowhere, but I knew better. If what Vivianna had said was true, now we had a way home. A very quick way as well.

Suddenly, I realized how tired I felt. I felt to one knee, panting a bit. " _The first time is always the hardest. It should get easier to control the magic once you use it more."_ Vivianna said, sounding a bit strained as well. " _As well as easier on me. This is the first time I've shared magic. It's much harder than I thought."_

"Well… at least… this can take us home…" I said between pants. Susie tentatively walked over to me, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. As if I was about to explode if she touched me.

"C-Cameron…" she started, trying to think of something to say. But I shushed her.

"Let's… talk when… we get home… not here." I said, trying to pull myself together. Susie didn't look happy about that, but she did let it go for now. "So… let's go."

I stood at the edge of the lake, looking down. 'This is… safe, right?' I asked in my head.

" _Oh, of course. This only has a small chance of exploding."_ Vivianna said, which didn't exactly reassure me. Still, it was the fastest way back home. I'll take that risk. Just, don't tell the other two.

"Come on you two. This is our way home." I said, glancing over my shoulder. They traded a worried glance at each other, before walking over to me.

"When we get home, you're giving me answers." Susie told me, firmly grabbing my hand. Snowy took my other, not saying anything.

I nodded, looking back at the vortex. It seemed to be slowing down. We needed to hurry.

"Three… two… one… JUMP!" I shouted, jumping, with the girls right beside me. Together, the three of us fell into the vortex, suddenly sliding as if it was a giant slide. The girls held onto me tightly, screaming. Me? I was holding my hands up in the air, shouting "WOO-HOO!" This. Was. AWESOME.

After a minute of sliding, suddenly, the 'tube' we were in leveled out, and we popped out right onto some grass. Other than my clothes and hair being soaked, I was feeling pretty good. "Woo! That was awesome!" I said, pushing back the hair in my eyes. The other two did not feel the same way.

"I'm never doing that again." Snowy said, looking a bit sick. Susie was so dizzy, she couldn't even stand up.

" _Seems like you had a good time at least. Now, is this the right place?"_ Vivianna spoke to me. I looked around. The lake did look exactly like the one where I taught Susie how to swim, but there was only one way to know for sure.

'Well, I'll know in a second.' I replied in my mind. I looked at the other two still sprawled on the ground. "Come on you two. Pull yourselves together." I said, holding a hand out to each of them. They took them, and I slowly hoisted them up.

After another few seconds of them getting their bearings, we walked in the direction the house should be. It all seemed familiar, but we needed to be absolutely sure.

Sure enough, after another few minutes, the house appeared, right where it always was. "Finally. Home" I said, sighing with relief. The girls joined me on that one. Finally, everyone was okay, and we were home safe, so I thought there wasn't much left to do now.

How very wrong I was. After getting inside and changing clothes, Susie and Snowy both pulled me once again to the bedroom. I almost had forgot that they wanted answers out of me.

" _Hey. How about I prove to them that I'm up here?"_ Vivianna asked me. 'And how exactly do you propose to do that?' I asked her.

" _Easy. Just wait for a bit. When you want me to start, tell me."_ was her only reply. 'Ohh kaaay…' I thought, unsure if I wanted to go through with this plan.

Susie and Snowy immediately pulled me over and pushed me on the bed. "Okay, spill. When have you been able to do all that?" Susie asked, a bit rougher than she normally would I might add.

I answered her honestly. "About twenty minutes ago, after Vivianna took residence in my head."

"Master, please. Be honest with us." Snowy said, pleading.

"I am! I'm not joking with you two! Why would I keep a joke going this long?" I asked back.

"I don't know, but please, be honest!" Susie said, grabbing me by the shoulders. I closed my eyes in anger.

" _Should I tell them now?"_ Vivianna spoke to me. I sighed once, and then thought only one word. 'Yes.'

Suddenly, something… happened. It's… hard to describe, but… imagine losing feeling of your whole body. That's roughly what it felt like, but instead of a tingling feeling everywhere, I felt… calm. Like my blood was now infused with calmness. I relaxed fully.

"Well? Are you going to tell us the truth?" Susie said, shaking my shoulders. A small laugh escaped me. Only… it wasn't my laugh. It was Vivianna's.

"Oh my dear girls, are you really thinking your own boyfriend would lie to you?" Vivianna spoke through me, as I opened my eyes. There was a small mirror in front of me again, one that's purely for decoration, but it showed me that my eyes were once again blue.

Susie and Snowy both backed up from me in shock. I couldn't blame them. "Dear girls, don't be afraid. I'm simply… borrowing him for a moment. Of course, he let me do it." Vivianna told them, smiling. Even though I couldn't do anything, I still could see. Susie and Snowy's faces told me only one thing: this can't be real.

"N-no… this isn't…" Snowy started, but Vivianna interrupted her. "Isn't real? And yet I'm talking to you right now. Pinching yourself won't do anything Susie." she said, looking over at Susie, who was trying to pinch herself awake.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Susie said, her voice shaking. "W-why are you… in his head? W-what do you plan on…"

Vivianna laughed a little. Obviously she was enjoying this. It sounded like she was having the most fun she had had in a good long while. "Oh my, don't be alarmed. I'm not taking over Cameron. In fact, he's still here." Suddenly, I could feel my face again. Or at least, half of it. Glancing at the mirror, I now had one blue eye, and one brown one.

"Hey. I told you." my half said, not being able to suppress a smile. Vivianna's half then spoke. "See? He's fine. He let me use his body as a vessel to talk to you both."

"It's still me." both me and Vivianna said at the same time. Susie and Snowy both slowly inched over to me, still very afraid.

"A-a-are you sure… you're not… going to h-hurt my Master… right?" Snowy asked hesitantly, grabbing my arm. Vivianna took back control and gently smiled, gently petting Snowy on the head. Snowy almost ran away, but she accepted the petting, slowly loosening up again. Susie however, looked still afraid.

"I… I…" she said, clearly still worried about me. Vivianna saw this, and became sad.

"I see… so you still worry. That is understandable." she said, sitting down. She gently sighed, gathering her thoughts. "Sit Susie. Let's talk."

Hesitantly, Susie sat down next to me. I felt control come back to my arms, so I gently grabbed her hand. She finched, but then calmed herself. Vivianna was looking intently at Susie.

"I'm… sorry I did not reveal my intentions before. That is my fault. But… I want to prove that I will not harm you, Snowy, or especially Cameron." Vivianna said, sounding genuinely sorry. Slowly, Susie loosened the tension in her shoulders.

"This is so weird… hearing your voice come out of Cameron…" Susie said. Vivianna gently smiled at that.

"I suppose it would be. Now I think that my point is made, I'll leave the rest to Cameron. See you later you two!" Vivianna said, before suddenly, I felt everything come back to me at once. My eyes turned back to normal, and I sighed with relief. Snowy and Susie looked at me with concern again.

"So… you were telling the truth." Susie said, looking embarrassed. In response, I wrapped my arms around her. She looked surprised, but eventually returned the gesture.

"I would never lie about something this big." I said softly. Suddenly Snowy hugged me from the back, sandwiching me between these two.

"I… I really missed you… Master." Snowy said, looking like she was about to cry. I didn't say anything, but repositioned myself so now, I had one arm around each of them.

For the longest time, no one spoke. We simply sat there, enjoying each other's warmth. Finally, I spoke. "I… I love both of you… so much."

They didn't say anything, they instead gave me a short kiss. But it still had every bit of love that they had in them.

And I… was happy.

 _Time skip to 9:10 pm…_

'Whew… I'm beat…'

With everything that had been going on the past few hours… I needed sleep. And lots of it.

I was lying down, trying to fall asleep quickly. I didn't want to get up crabby.

But then, after two minutes…

 _Knock Knock!_ Someone was knocking on the bedroom door. Susie and I sat up, looking at each other. "Snowy?" I called out. Slowly, she opened the door, and poked her head in.

"Hi… um, I have a question…" she said, walking over to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, yawning.

"Um, well… I can't sleep… can I… if it's okay… um, sleep… with you two?" she asked, her face getting a bit red. I blinked at that one. Snowy, weirdly enough, never asked to sleep with us before. This was new. I looked over at Susie, who didn't have anything to say.

"Um… if you want to, for tonight… you can." I said, scooting over to give her room. She looked happy, and crawled right in, snuggling up next to me. After another glance at Susie, we both just shrugged and laid back down, trying to fall asleep.

But of course, it would be harder for me to sleep that night. Twenty minutes after that happened, both girls had fallen asleep, but of course, they both had to be sleep huggers. No wonder Snowy's sheets always looked messed up in the morning.

Anyway, since both of them were sleep huggers, guess what that meant for me? Since I was in the middle, they both grabbed me, and tried to pull me closer to them, so it felt like a game of tug of war for a few minutes, with me as the rope.

Finally, they gave up and simply scooted closer to me, pressing up against me. If I hadn't been used to being sleep-hugged, I wouldn't have been able to fall asleep. As it was, it took awhile to get used to it. Until, finally, I gently grabbed a hand from both of them, smiling. "Good night, both of you amazing girls…" I said, before closing my eyes.

 _Later that night…_

"Mmmm… hm?" I said, confused. I opened my eyes to see… darkness. For a second, I wondered where I was.

"Don't worry. You're perfectly fine." a voice said close by. I sat up and looked around. There, standing close by to me, was Vivianna, smiling as usual.

"Wha-" I began, questions building in my throat. Vivianna shushed me, walking over and sat down next to me.

"Relax. This is but a dream. One we're sharing." she said. Questions built up even MORE in me than before, but I couldn't think of one to ask.

"Hm… you seem tense Cameron." she said, looking at me. Indeed, I was a bit tense, mostly from the fact that this place wasn't somewhere I was used to.

"Loosen up. You're safe here." Vivianna told me, scooting closer and placing a hand on my shoulder. It… felt real. This… couldn't be a dream.

"Awww…" she said, noticing my confusion. "You're so cute when you don't know what's happening." She gently hugged me, wrapping me in her warm arms. 'How… how does she feel warm? She's… water.' I asked myself, but no answer came to mind.

Vivianna parted from me, smiling playfully. "You still have a lot of questions. I can tell that much." she said. I nodded.

"Mm hm. Well then, we have all night here. Ask away." she said. I searched around, trying to find a good starter question.

"Well… for starters, how are you still alive in my head? Wouldn't a water spirit need, like, a giant water source or something to live in?" I asked.

"Ah yes, that. Well… that's a good question actually. I believe it may have something to do with the fact that humans are largely made up of water. But as to the more specifics of it… I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it's best to not dwell on it." she replied.

"Hmm…" I said, not fully sure I believed her. But, I had too many questions to probe her right now. "Okay then, why do you have so much control over me? If you wanted, you could pretty much control my every movement."

"That's easy. Because you let me into yourself." she said, looking glad I had asked that question. "As you know, I am a spirit. All spirits had lives beforehand, and if someone that is living allows a spirit into his head… well, they share a bond. A very strong one at that."

"I don't understand." I said.

"Yes, it is a bit complicated…" she agreed. "There are many spirits out there. Most will be in this world for… centuries. Most don't even realize the power they have. But they do all share one special trait: the ability to bond with other living things. Of course, their are rules. To bond, both the spirit and living creature must both agree to bond. In your case, you agreed that you wanted me to help you, and I did too. So the bond was made."

"In addition, in order for a spirit to help it's host, it must latch onto the spiritual energy of the host. This bond not only increases the power of the spirit, as they have now a much larger energy field to draw on as a backup, but also the host, giving them the ability to tap into the spirit's power to use themselves." Vivianna continued.

"These powers… well, it varies by spirit, but most commonly the host will be given abilities based on what the spirit is. For example, since I am based on water, you now have some control over water, as well as other fluids." she finished.

"Wow… so, now, I control water… forever?" I asked, looking down at my hands. They didn't feel any different, no power surged through me.

Vivianna smiled. "As long as I remain here. Which… could very well be for the rest of your life. But, you must not tax yourself. You do seem to have lots of potential, but everyone has a limit. If you use them to much… then you will lose them for a good while. I'll try my best to let you know if you're overexerting yourself."

I stared at this girl. She looked no older than sixteen, and yet, she could very well have been alive for hundreds of years. She was an adult, no doubt, and yet… the amount of power she had… it was impressive.

"Hm hm hm." she laughed to herself. "You're speechless."

"I…" I started, trying to find something to say.

"No, don't explain yourself. I already know." She smiled, tapping my forehead. I almost had forgotten that she could hear my thoughts.

"Well, I guess there goes all of my privacy." I said. "Now I have a little voice in my head who can hear, see, and know everything I do and think."

"Mmmm… so you do." she said, smiling devilishly. "Oh, this will be fun."

"For you." I said weakly. Vivianna only laughed gently, before standing up and holding her hand out to me. I took it and pulled myself up, my legs a bit cramped from sitting down for so long. I tried to let go, but she held on firmly. I looked at her quizzically.

"Oh, just thought you might want to do this." she said casually, before giving me a gentle kiss. My eyes went wide open, red blush instantly covering my face.

A few seconds later, she parted from my lips. Vivianna laughed at my stunned face. "My my! That's even more shocked than I predicted!" she managed to get out. I wasn't sure what to do now. On one hand, part of me was happy that I just got a kiss from another beautiful woman. On the other hand, part of me was… all over the place. Shocked that she did that, confused as to why she did it, afraid of what this meant…

Vivianna giggled a little more, taking my other hand. "Relax Cameron. After all, this is the dream world. Anything can happen." she said, with a happy smile. That's when it clicked, this was a dream. And just because I dream it, doesn't mean I have to share it.

Slowly, everything that was open to me now came to mind. Me and her… we had all night to ourselves. We could enjoy it however we please.

A smile soon came to my face, as I imagined all the possibilities. That's when Vivianna's smile changed. "Of course, there are other things we could do… if you're brave enough." she said, her tone now a bit more… how should I put this… sultry, I guess.

I understood what she was talking about loud and clear. "Maybe. Not now though. I'd like to learn more about the voice in my head tonight." I said, with a smile that said, 'I would like to join you, but not yet.'

Vivianna understood. She grinned broadly, before pulling me closer. This time, when she kissed me, I joined in this time. 'I think I'm going to like going to bed more now.' I thought, happy.

 _Fast forward to 10:00 am…_

Slowly, the morning sun rises, filling the bedroom with light. I slowly sat up, stretching. 'That was a good chat.' I thought casually.

" _It was, wasn't it?"_ Vivianna spoke in my mind.

I slowly rose and got dressed, thinking about what my dreams would be about later on. " _Seems like someone's excited for what we have in store."_ Vivianna teased.

'How would I not?' I tossed back, opening the bedroom door. As usual, Susie and Snowy were in the main room, Susie cooking again. Both of them looked refreshed. As if they had gotten a good night's sleep for the first time in weeks. I realized it probably was.

"Morning." I said, still a little sleepy. Those two smiled back at me, happy to see me back to normal.

After about ten minutes, in which we finished eating breakfast, we cleaned up the small kitchen and relaxed in the living room. For a while, all was normal. Susie read her book, and Snowy cuddled up with me in my chair.

Then, about a good ten more minutes later, I got up and said I was going out for a while. When asked why, I replied, "I want to go out and train. I've haven't had a good training session in a long while."

"Are you sure?" Susie asked, concerned for me. I guess she thought if I went out there, I would be vulnerable or something, which I understood. They had just gotten me back yesterday, and were afraid that they would lose me again.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." I said, smiling. "Besides, even if I haven't trained in a while, I'm still capable of defending myself." I pulled out my favorite sword to prove my point.

It was my favorite sword for a reason. It was my dad's old sword. Diamond, with an obsidian handle, flaked with small pieces of obsidian on the edges to make it sharper. This sword was very hard to recreate, but the damage it did was the best in the whole village. Possibly the whole world. Whenever I pulled it out, I could almost feel my dad calling back to me, saying that he was happy I took the sword. It made me a bit sad to think about the past like that, but still, what happened happened. Thinking about it with regret would get me nowhere.

"Well… okay. But take Snowy with you." Susie said, still concerned. Snowy looked happy to be able to come along.

"Fair enough. She can train with me." I said, checking to see that I had all of my training supplies.

Two minutes later, me and Snowy headed out and soon came to the lake, water sparkling in the light. "We're training here, Master?" Snowy asked, sitting down at the water's edge.

"Yeah. If we get tired, we can take a break and cool off with the water." I said, pulling out some supplies. "Now, tell me, have you ever fought with a sword before?"

"Umm… no, not really." was her answer. I nodded, expecting that.

"Well, do you want to learn?" I asked, pulling out a wooden training sword.

"Why would I need to? I already have claws." Snowy asked, showing me her nails.

"Just in case. You're nails can only do so much. A sword can be very useful. Longer reach, great in up-close encounters… it's a good skill to know." I said, tossing her one of the swords.

For the next hour or so, I taught Snowy the art of swordplay. At first, she was awful, which was expected. But slowly, she started understanding what I taught her. By the end of the second hour, she could keep up with me in a fake duel, blocking strikes fairly well, and also had a good idea of when it's time to go offensively or defensively.

"Okay, from the top!" I said, holding my sword. She ran in and swung, I blocked and aimed a jab. She stepsided, and backed up. What she lacked in raw strength with a sword, she made up with pure speed. I found myself getting caught up in her swift footwork.

Two minutes later, she's backed me up to the lake's edge. I was surprised at how good she was getting. 'She might even get me to fall in the water.' I thought to myself.

She rushed forward, but then suddenly, everything slows down. The world gets tinged with blue, and Snowy is still charging at me, but as if she's running through syrup. 'Huh?' I thought, confused.

" _Oh, I just thought you might have wanted to see one of the powers I give you. This is, what I call, Serene Mind. Everything moves slower, giving you more reaction time, and you become more focused."_ Vivianna said in my mind.

'Huh. That's useful.' I thought, easily avoiding Snowy's slow attack. 'How do I turn it off?'

" _I turn it off when you want me to."_ Vivianna told me. Suddenly, everything returned to normal speed. Snowy looked at where I had been, confused.

"Behind you." I said, sword ready. She turned, just in time for me to knock the sword out of her hands.

"And, this duel is over." I said, dropping my sword. Snowy looked confused.

"How… did you dodge my swing that fast?" she asked me.

"Vivianna. She helped me. Bit of bad timing though, that wasn't very fair." I said, sitting down and wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"She helped?" Snowy asked, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, apparently I got some powers or something from her being in my head." I told her. Snowy appeared thoughtful by this.

"What else does she give?" she asked.

" _Shall I teach you now?"_ Vivianna asked me, taking advantage of the opportunity. I stood up again, pushed the hair out of my eyes, and spoke one more time.

"Let's do this."

 **Welp, time to cut off the chapter here! I've hit my word count for this chapter by now. Sorry for those of you that were really getting into it. This is shaping up rather nicely, isn't it?**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! New powers have emerged, and Cameron seems to have another reason to like sleep now, if you catch my drift. If enough people want it, I may go in more depth about Vivianna and Cameron, but I doubt I'll make it a huge deal. I mean, it's a dream after all, right?**

 **As always, if you want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your MC username, what time, and what server. Same if you want to join my server. As always, this is ButterHunter, and I'll see you in the next chapter. Stay awesome.**


	22. Old Friendships Never Die (Part 1)

**What is up all of you awesome readers, It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter to my story! Still hoping you all like my story, and how it going. When we last left off, Cameron was about to learn some new skills that Vivianna gives him. Sounds very interesting, doesn't it?**

 **Anyway, back to the story!**

Chapter 22: Old Friendships Never Die (Part 1)

There I was, standing at the lake, Snowy resting for a bit, getting ready to learn what Vivianna could give me. After a brief period of preparing myself, I opened my eyes and spoke three words. "Let's do this."

The moment I said that, a massive wave of strength surged through my entire body. It felt... amazing. 'Is this… the power you're giving me?' I asked Vivianna in my head.

" _Yes. First, a simple, yet handy trick. If the situation calls for it, I can help you get across water much faster than swimming. All you must do is imagine that the water in front of you has suddenly hardened."_ she told me.

I did as I was told and after a few seconds, ran forward. I half expected to plunge in the water, but sure enough, it felt like running across solid ground. Snowy gasped behind me. "Master! You're… running on water!"

I sprinted back to Snowy, flashing her a smile. 'Not bad. What else do you got?' I asked Vivianna.

" _How about when you need a bit more reach? Concentrate on the sword in your hand. Imagine a bigger, better one around that."_ she offered. I took it, pulling out the training sword. I willed it to be even better than it was. This one didn't do anything to a monster. A bigger one would be nicer in a fight.

Reacting to my thoughts, the lake slowly bubbled. Water rose from it, encasing my hands and the sword. Within seconds, a bigger version of the sword appeared, made out of pure water. Snowy's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

Experimentally, I made a practice swing, and then targeted a nearby tree. With a quick slash, the tree fell, all from one quick cut. I didn't even use full force.

'Now that's a good one.' I thought, dispelling the water sword. The water that had made it up fell to the ground, quickly soaking back into the earth. 'Hmmmm… got anything for defense?'

" _Yes, glad you asked. I have several defensive moves for you, like channeling water as a means of protective walls and such. However, an even more useful skill, say you need to retreat, and there's water next to you. Well, I can grant you brief underwater abilities. Such as breathing underwater and faster movement."_ Vivianna informed me.

'Okay, what about if I need to attack, but I need more defense?' I thought.

" _Easy. As I said before, you can summon walls of water to protect you, but they are rather delicate, so they can't last more than a couple of hits. Also, a big, powerful strike might immediately break it."_

'So they work best against weaker or weakened opponents, huh?' I deduced.

" _That is correct. Another skill is an offshoot of Serene Mind. This one is both defensive and offensive. I refer to it as Stormy Seas. Using it makes it easier to dodge attacks, like Serene Mind, but as a bonus, your sword becomes infused with the power of water. You strike with the force of the very ocean."_

'Woah. I better try that one.' I thought to myself, drawing my blade.

 _About ten minutes later…_

I was panting heavily. In front of me was another tree, this one showing signs of heavy strikes. Gashes cut three inches thick were all over it. Just like Vivianna told me, my strikes had gotten much more powerful, but I felt energy leave me quickly. She told me that the first time is always the hardest, and I would only be able to get better at controlling the energy I used.

I looked over, and saw Snowy sitting down in the grass, looking at me in awe. I walked over to her, and sat down, tired. "Whew… that took a lot out of me." I said.

"I bet. You looked… unstoppable." Snowy said, eyes glowing. She must have gotten around to the idea of Vivianna in my head. "That was amazing Master!"

"Heh. Well, I'm definitely going to need to train a bit more. That was only the rough start." I said, grabbing a bottle of water and drinking almost the whole thing in one go.

" _Ease up there. Don't hurt yourself."_ Vivianna said, even though she knew firsthand how tired I was. Plus, maybe a bit of water in my system would revitalize her as well.

After a little bit longer, Snowy and I both decided to head home. "Well, that was a good first session. We need to do this more." I said, shouldering my bag.

"Maybe, right now, let's just go home. I'm beat." Snowy said. I couldn't have agreed more.

When we got home, Susie greeted us, glad to see I was okay. Luckily for us, we came home at just the right time. Susie was making lunch for us, and was about to call us back.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, (because by now the ones I had been wearing were soaked with water and sweat, and I felt gross) I gladly ate lunch. My stomach was very thankful for food. I cleared off the two sandwiches Susie had given me before they even finished half of their first one.

"Hungry, huh?" Susie asked me.

"Very. I didn't even realize it until now." I said, leaning back.

For the rest of the day, nothing else really happened. Honestly, I was starting to get bored. That's when I got an idea. "Hey Susie?"

"Yes?" she replied, putting her book down.

"I was thinking, maybe tomorrow I could go down to that city End and my sister live in, or at least my sister does. Stop by and see what they were up to, you know?" I told her. As I expected, her face first briefly flashed concern for me, before returning to normal.

"Well… you realize I can't go with you, right?" she told me. That reminded me of that one small detail: that she is still half slime. Other humans probably wouldn't be nearly as happy to let someone like her in their city. For a second, I found myself getting angry at them, before snapping back.

"I… I honestly forgot about that. Sorry…" I said quietly.

"No no, it's fine." she said, giving me a smile. "I understand you want to see your sister. It has been a while. But, how long would you be there?"

"A day at the longest. No later." I said, thinking it made sense. I could probably crash at her place or something like that if I needed to.

"Well… I don't know… I'd feel better if me or Snowy could go…" Susie said. Then, something clicked in my mind.

"Wait. Wait a second…" I said, trying to tie the idea down. 'Yeah… that could work. It worked for her before.'

"Hey Snowy!" I called out. She came bounding down the stairs almost instantly.

"Yes Master?" she said, on her knees next to my chair.

"Do you still have that old hood?" I asked her. She looked a bit confused, but ran upstairs and came back a few minutes later with it, still with the ribbon cut from our, ah, disagreement when we first met.

"Yes, I still have it. Why?" she asked me. I told her my idea to go to a city a while away from here. She looked afraid at first, but then, she gradually started getting excited, especially when I told her about my sister.

"You have a sister? Why didn't you say that first? I want to go now!" she said, practically bouncing off the walls. She really did have seemingly unlimited energy.

"Well, I think that covers everything." I said, turning back to Susie. Even she was impressed with my plan.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do about that hood. But Cameron, please, keep her safe. I don't know if they are different about wolf girls, but I really don't want to know. And please, stay safe yourself." she pleaded with me. I told her that there was nothing to worry about, we would be fine.

The rest of the day was spent figuring out what I would bring to the city. I brought along a few ingots, hoping that I could maybe trade them for things if saw the need to. I also made sure to pack some food, and of course, my sword and bow would be coming along as well. By the end of the day, I had all my stuff ready. Me and Snowy would leave after breakfast, and, best case scenario, be home by dinner. Worst case, the next day. We had everything ready.

That night, after I fell asleep, I once again met Vivianna. Even she seemed excited by the prospect of seeing the city, and my sister.

"I did peek at that memory of you seeing your sister a while back. It was really touching. Even if I can't met her in person, it'll still be nice to see her." she told me.

"No kidding. My only problem is that I met Snowy after that, so I have to introduce her to Snowy, and then that might cause problems." I said. Vivianna told me I was worrying too much.

"Let's worry about that when we absolutely have to. Right now, I want to talk again. We talked about me last time. Now it's my turn." she said, taking my hand.

"Not sure how you haven't found everything about me already by peeking into my memories, but sure, I'll talk with you." I said, giving her a smile. That's how the rest of my night went, with her asking me all kinds of questions. But we both were rather distracted for tomorrow...

When the sun rose the next day, I woke feeling a bit nervous. I mean, meeting my sister again was already stressful enough, but combined with the fact that we were going to a city, somewhere I hadn't been in for years, was almost enough to make me start panicking.

Thankfully, Susie understood my nerves. She made my favorite breakfast for me today, and a lot of it. I helped her clean up, and then, the three of us stepped outside. I did one last check to make sure I had everything, and Snowy made sure the hood would stay on with the strap Susie had fixed. I gave Susie one more hug, and a peck on the cheek.

"I'll see you soon." I said, wishing that she could come with us. Snowy gave Susie her own hug, saying that she'll miss her. Susie simply smiled, gave us one last hug and check over, and let us start going.

Just before we passed over the top of a hill, we turned and gave her one more wave. She returned it, and then we passed over the crest of the hill.

End had told us the city my sister lived in was about thirty minutes away, in the direction of the sunrise. Snowy and I continued walking for a long time, unable to keep our excitement under control.

Finally, we climbed the top of a hill, and then we saw it. They described it as a city, and they weren't kidding. Giant walls made of fancy stone, which must have taken the whole city years to build, stood tall as a way to keep monsters out. The city was massive, almost too big to be called a city anymore. Even from way out here, we could see clearly the people walking around in their daily business.

"Woah. This place is HUGE." I said, looking at all the fancy buildings all over the place. "Now I'm glad I brought the camera." I said, snapping a quick photo.

"Well, let's get in there!" Snowy said, starting to climb down the hill. I followed after her. It took a few more minutes, but finally we reached the doors.

"Halt! Who goes there?" said a guard by the entrance.

"I'm Cameron, and this is my friend, Snowy. We would like to enter." I said. 'Honest enough.'

"Are you two new to this city?" the guard asked us. We nodded. "Then if you want to get in, you must understand our rules."

"First, you are not to disrupt any event or anything that may be happening around." he started, reading off of a list.

"Second, weapons are allowed on your person, but if you hurt someone with malicious intent, you will be charged." he said, basically saying, 'If you hurt someone here, you die.'

"Third, you are welcome to stay as long as you wish, but if you are not going to be living here permanently, then please stay at the hotel next to the town hall in the center of town, until you can afford a place to stay. Or do you happen to know anyone here?"

"Yes I do actually. My sister lives in this city, and that's partly why we're here." I said.

The guard nodded. "Then if your sister allows it, stay at her place. Better there than being charged. Finally, one more thing. Please, have some common sense. Don't steal, loot, or do anything like that. If you really want something, buy it. There's a bank close to the entrance here that will give you some money if you have ores. Do you understand?"

We nodded, and with that, the guard let us enter. A colorful banner right in front of us had this painted on it: "Welcome to the city of Blockington."

"That's original." I said jokingly to Snowy. She snickered at that. Then, another set of doors, and suddenly the bright, colorful city was all around us. People were walking around, it sounded like music was playing somewhere, shops were lined up up and down the streets in front of us. It was organized chaos, and I loved it.

"I think that's the bank that nice guard was talking about." Snowy said, pointing at a green building with some banners that had $ on them.

"That would be the place. Let's go get some money first. Then we'll worry about finding my sister." I said, walking forward.

On the way, me and Snowy had a short talk. "Okay, Snowy, until we leave, I want you calling me by my real name. Don't want to have any awkward conversations about that. You understand?"

She nodded, saying she understood. Soon, we arrived at the bank entrance.

The inside of the bank was warmer than outside, which wasn't a surprise. It was the middle of winter after all. Snowy would hopefully blend in with her hood.

I spoke with a teller at an open window. "Um, hi."

"Hello. How can I help you?" she said with a smile.

"Yes, well, me and my friend are new here, and we were told that we could get some money if we came here." I said, lowering my voice to not attract unwanted attention.

"Of course. Please let me see your ores." the teller replied. It took a little while to calculate the exchange rates, but soon enough I had about two hundred gold coins in a pouch. "Thank you for your patience. Come again!"

"Thank you." I said, leaving. Now that we had money, now we needed to find my sister.

"Excuse me." I spoke to a nearby guard. "Do you have any idea how I can find where someone lives here?"

"First timers?" he asked, to which we nodded. "Just head down this road and you'll come to the town hall. They can tell you where your friend is at."

We thanked him, and then continued the walk down the cobbled street. In front of us, musicians were performing on a stage, and the music was so good, I almost wanted to stop. But we continued walking, looking at all the shops and people all around us.

"This is amazing. Look at all this stuff they have for sale." Snowy said, looking at every shop, from toys to food, bakers to blacksmiths, this place had it all. One shop caught my eye. It was called "GI Tools and Weapon Repairs."

"We'll do some shopping later. Let's find my sister first." I said, almost dragging Snowy away from a butcher who was cooking fresh meat. Soon after we reached what must have been the town square. I made sure Snowy's hood was up before we kept going. Thankfully, no one bothered us, other than one accidentally walking into me.

We entered the town hall, a large building of wood and stone. The inside had several people inside, most of whom looked important. We waited behind another person already talking to the receptionist. I tried to keep calm. Just because I was in a new town, that doesn't mean I'll go crazy. We were here on business after all.

The person in front of us finished, and moved away. But I swear he shot Snowy a look just before he left. One I didn't like very much.

"Hello." the receptionist said. "How may I help you?"

"Yes, um, can you give me the residence of Paige Wallis? I want to speak with her." I asked her quietly. Even though no one seemed interested in us, that didn't mean we shouldn't be careful. You never know who might be listening.

"Let me see… ah, yes. Once you exit this building, take a left and head down the path. It's… the tallest apartment building in the city. Ask there to see your friend." the lady told me.

"Thank you." I said, turning. "Come on Snowy."

Snowy bounded after me. Why… why did it feel like someone was watching me? I glanced around, but saw no one.

The apartment building wasn't that hard to find. Like that receptionist told us, it was in fact the tallest skyscraper in the whole city. My sister was hopefully in right now.

After talking to the clerk at the counter, we climbed up a few flights of stairs and finally were standing in front of what was my sister's room. Gold plating on the door read, "Room 123"

"Well… here goes nothing." I said, knocking quickly. For a second, no one answered, and I was afraid we just missed her.

Then the lock clicked, and the door opened a crack. "Yes?" said her voice.

"Hey sis." I said, unable to hold back my smile. She pulled the door open all the way and looked at me with surprise.

"Cameron! W-what are you doing here?" she asked, but not in an annoyed way, more like she didn't think I would take the time to visit her.

"I wanted to just say hi. That so wrong?" I told her. "Can we come in? It's cold out here."

She quickly opened the door all the way, letting me and Snowy enter. It was a pretty cozy house, what with the small fireplace and the couch. Several items were littered about the place, like miscellaneous tools and such. Their was a bookshelf with a lot of books cramped on it, to the point where I'd be afraid to pull one out. A door lead off deeper into the apartment, probably to her bedroom or something.

"Make yourself at home. I'll get something to drink." Paige said, running behind a corner. Snowy and I had a silent conversation, mostly about what her first impressions of my sister were.

'If I had to guess, probably nice, but she does get… clumsy sometimes.' she told me with her eyes. She more or less hit the nail on the head.

About two minutes later, my sister came back, now with a small tray with three mugs. "Here. Some hot chocolate should warm you up." she said, giving us a cup each.

It tasted pretty good, and did make me feel very warm inside. Snowy seemed to share this thought, as she drank very deeply from her cup. After we finished, Paige sat down at a small little chair that she must have had custom made or something, because it suited her perfectly.

"So, care to introduce me to your new friend?" she asked, looking at Snowy.

"This is Snowy. I met her barely a day after you visited. Snowy, this is my sister, Paige." I introduced.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Snowy said politely.

"Nice to meet you too, Snowy." Paige said back, with a gentle smile.

"Anyway, I kinda just wanted to see how things were going with you and such. And as I kinda wanted to see the city. Now I wonder how the hell I missed it." I said. Paige looked a little bit concerned.

"What about… Susie? She's not…" she started, but I immediately calmed her.

"Calm down, she's still at the house. I wasn't stupid enough to force her to come to a human city." I said. Snowy nodded at that. But we both knew what we were hiding.

Paige looked relieved. "Thank Notch you didn't. You don't know how cruel they will be with the mobs. Even if some can speak, most of the time the leaders don't listen. That's why… it's a bit hard with End."

"Who's End?" Snowy asked, tilting her head. Paige remembered she hadn't shared who End was with Snowy yet. She explain who End was, and Snowy was surprised to hear she liked an enderman, but she quickly got used to it. After all, she was part wolf, and she liked me.

"You… you support human-monster peace?" my sister asked. Snowy nodded.

"Of course. After all, no one can hate each other forever. Maybe later we can live in a world of peace…"

"Exactly what I think." Paige said. She turned to me. "Anyway, how do you two know each other?"

She knew instantly she asked a bad question, as I tensed up a small bit. Snowy glanced over at Cameron, who was searching for a good answer.

"Well… I was traveling, and then I saw his house. After a, well, minor misunderstanding, he and Susie, um… allowed me to stay with them." Snowy said, putting on an embarrassed face, to hopefully trick Paige into thinking that she didn't talk about it much.

It worked. Paige nodded, and didn't press forward. Instead, she said, "Well then, I enjoy seeing you again, brother."

"Nice to see you as well." I said, checking my watch. I was surprised to see than it was almost noon already. "Damn, how long have we be wandering around town?"

Snowy noticed my watch, and her eyes widened slightly at the time too. "Gee… we were out there forever…"

"Heh. First time in a new city, and you had to take you time, eh?" my sister said, poking fun at us.

"Well sorry for wanting to sightsee before coming here." I said, with a light hearted tone. After a few more minutes of casual banter, Paige said that she needed to get going.

"Sorry, but I do have to make a living. This place doesn't buy itself." she told us, standing up and grabbing her coat.

"Fine. But if it gets dark, we would like to stay here for the night. It that okay?" I asked. Paige darted to the back for a moment, then returned.

"Yes, it's fine. There's a guest room that's moderately clean back there. I should be back by at least 5:30. If you two leave now, come back then." Paige responded, before giving us one more goodbye and then leaving.

"So, what did you think of her?" I asked Snowy, who was still sitting down.

"She seems nice. Bit messy, but hey, it's nothing too bad." Snowy responded with a smile.

For a bit, we relaxed a bit more, and then decided to head out. We promised that we would bring back some souvenirs from the trip. The only question was what to get.

Down the cobbled street again, looking around the many shops all over the place. Since it was noon by now, we first stopped at a small little restaurant by the town hall. The food was pretty good, even though the waiter seemed a bit… ah, rude to travelers. AKA, us.

"No tip for that guy." I said, after the meal was done. Well, I did slip one coin under the napkin dispenser on our table, but that was only for him if he found it.

Afterward, the next few hours were spent with me and Snowy just roaming around, looking at the many interesting things this city had to offer. Snowy practically dragged me to a clothing store so we could find some more nice clothes. Thankfully, nothing she chose was too pricey, but she did buy a lot. Two bags worth of clothes. In return, I dragged her to a shop I wanted to see. A nice little bookstore, hoping that I could maybe unload some old books I had read over and over to the point of where I had pretty much memorized them. Of course, there were plenty of new books that I bought, almost as many that I gave to the store.

By the time 4:30 rolled around, Snowy and I had almost spend all of our coins, but we were laden with at least four bags each. "Lot's of nice stuff in this place, eh Snowy?" I asked.

But Snowy wasn't by my side. In fact, for a moment, I couldn't see her. "Snowy?" I said again, looking around.

Thankfully, she had only wandered off to that butcher from earlier, who was now cooking several chickens in his ovens. Snowy was practically drooling from the meat smell. "Snowy. Don't wander off like that." I said, coming to her side. "Sorry." I told the butcher.

"Not at all friend." he said with a heavy accent. "Seems like your friend likes meat, eh?"

"Likes? Try loves." I said, trying to get Snowy's attention off the chicken in the ovens.

"Haha! My dear boy, I think she wants one." the butcher laughed.

"Yeah, but if I let her have one, she'll never want to stop." I said, shaking Snowy. But no use, she was hypnotised.

"Here. You can have one, on the house." he said, handing me a freshly cooked chicken, boxed up and ready to go. Now Snowy was pleading me to give her the box.

"You want it, you come with me." I said, walking away. She followed after, desperate to get the food.

"Heh heh… travelers are always funny." I heard the butcher tell himself, getting back to work.

Finally, away from the butcher stand, I shoved the chicken into my bag. "That'll be for dinner later." I told a crushed Snowy. "Don't even try. I'll give you plenty of it later." I warned.

At that moment, I realized we were right in front of that one shop from earlier, "GI Tools and Weapon Repair." On display in the window were some amazingly crafted swords and armor. I couldn't help but wonder who made them.

For some reason, the GI in the name of this place seemed… familiar. But that couldn't be true, right?

Nevertheless, I called out in my head, 'Hey, Vivianna? Can you search around in my head for a bit and see if anything matching GI comes up?'

" _I'll see what I can do. Be patient."_ Vivianna told me, hopefully searching.

"Come on Snowy. I want to check out something." I said, walking to the shop. Snowy followed, probably because she wanted me to give her the meat early.

There was no one else shopping there when we entered. The only person who was there was the cashier. "Welcome to GI Tools, how can I help you?" he said, in a slightly bored tone.

"We're looking right now. Not much business?" I asked, looking at the finely crafted tools available. As a person who relied on weapons most of my life, I naturally came to appreciate them.

"No. In fact, you two are probably only the tenth group today." the cashier replied, looking tired. He stopped talking for a while as Snowy and I browsed.

"Hey Ma- er, Cameron." Snowy said, catching herself. The cashier didn't seem to think anything of it. "What's this?"

I walked over to where she was. In a glass shelf, light shining on it from a bright torch, were two incredibly fancy looking… actually, I didn't even know what they were. They certainly looked like a master crafted them.

"Those? Those are the boss's favorite weapons. His own design." the cashier called out, finally sounding a bit more upbeat. From behind his desk, he pulled out two more, though they were obviously wooden fakes.

"Here, put this on your arm, under your sleeve." he said, showing me how to do that. It fit like a sort of arm gauntlet, but didn't seem all that special.

"Now, say you're out there somewhere, when all of the sudden, a zombie approaches. Well, flick your wrists, and see what happens.

Curious, I did so, and from the top of the gauntlets, two triangles of wood popped out. "See? If those were regular ones, small blades would poke out, great for close quarter's combat. Boss calls 'em hidden blades."

"Huh." I said, rather impressed. These little things on my arm were quite complicated, now that I knew what they did. "Will these things ever, you know, backfire? Like, the blades pop out when I don't want them to?" I asked.

"No. Don't ask me how, but they only will pop out when you flick your wrists out. Plus, they retract the second you flip your wrists back. Just, be careful around loved ones." the cashier explained.

I took off the fake ones, and looked back at the masterly crafted ones. They would be very good tools to buy. "How much for the real ones?" I asked.

"Ooh… I don't know… my boss placed the price of those rather steep, mostly because he is the only one who actually knows how to make them right." the cashier said, looking a bit nervous.

"Really? How much?" Snowy asked, also interested.

"It's… 150 gold coins." the cashier sighed out. Hearing the price nearly caused me to collapse in shock.

"150?! That much?!" I cried out. The cashier quickly grew fearful, drawing a line on his throat.

"Shhhh! Don't yell out how much those are! The boss might hear you, and you really don't want that to happen." he said, sounding honest. But I was still too shocked at the ludicrous price tag.

"I can't afford that…" I said, very upset. Those hidden blades would be beyond useful. But this place's owner had set the bar very high.

"I'm sorry… there's not really much I can do at this point." the cashier said, sounding truly apologetic. "If my boss was out here, he might be willing to haggle, but…"

"Where is he?" I asked. The cashier's face became a bit pale.

"I-in the workshop through this door… you seriously can't be planning to march over to him, are you?"

"If it means getting a better deal on those blades, then so be it." I said firmly, making myself clear I was not going to be persuaded otherwise.

The cashier tried to think of a way to talk me out of it, but sighed, and said, "Hold on… I'll talk to him…" before going through the door behind him.

Snowy looked a little worried about me. "Master… are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Of course I am. Whatever this boss is like, I can handle it. And my name, remember?" I said, rubbing her head to calm her.

Thirty seconds later, the cashier came back, now really afraid. "So, good news, bad news. Good news, my boss is willing to talk with you. Bad news, he want's you to go back there, which is never a good sign."

"Whatever. Lead the way." I said, telling Snowy to stay put for the time being. Down the long hallway, and then the cashier told me that the boss was right behind the door in front of us.

"Alright." I said, and he left, probably so that he wouldn't see what was going to happen. Slowly, I walked to the door.

" _Cameron."_ Vivianna spoke to me. " _I have news."_

'What?' I asked, almost to the door. 'Make it fast, I'm gonna have to talk here in a second.'

" _Okay. Well, I searched through your memories and I didn't find anything specific. However, I did find a few matches for the G. No name you know has the initials GI, however, some did have a G initial."_ Vivianna relayed to me.

'Really? Anyone stand out?' I asked in my head, reaching out to the door.

" _Not really. Maybe talking to this guy will help."_ Vivianna admitted. I nodded, ready to talk. I opened the door, expecting to see some huge titan of a boss in a suit… but was instead met with… a teenager?

"Hello?" I said, not sure what to make of this. The person turned, and gave me a look. He looked… almost like I had seen him before.

"So… you're the one who is complaining about my prices, yes?" the person asked. I was a bit distracted to answer him quickly, my eyes were looking around the place. One thing caught my eye, something engraved on the desk.

 _Gowen Industries…_

'Is there a name that matches Gowen?' I asked Vivianna in my head. She quickly started searching again.

"Hey! Answer me!" the guy said, pounding a fist on the desk.

" _I found a match."_ Vivianna replied.

'What is it?' I asked.

" _There was only one possible match. A male, by the name of Zach Gowen."_

And that's when everything started spinning.

 **WOAH! Okay, well, I went over my word limit by almost 500 words! Guess I got too carried away… Ah well, more for you guys!**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this new installment. If you guys aren't sure who Zach Gowen is, refer back to Chapter 1. Now you understand? Yep.**

 **As always, if any of you awesome people want to play MC with me, PM me with your ingame username, what time, and when. As always, this is ButterHunter signing off for now, and until next time, stay awesome.**


	23. Old Friendships Never Die (Part 2)

**Hello all of you dedicated readers! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter in my story! When we last left off, Cameron had just gone to a city, (creatively named Blockington) and had met someone new by the name of Zach Gowen.**

 **So enough intro, let's jump right back into the mix of things!**

Chapter 23: Old Friendships Never Die (Part 2)

The room was literally spinning all over the place. I could barely stand upright. That name… that name is one of the many I hadn't heard of in a LONG time.

Zach Gowen…

'How… how is he alive?!' I asked myself, but coming up with nothing.

"HEY! I said, ANSWER ME!" the person in front of me shouted, looking ready to slap me. Suddenly, I snapped back to my senses.

"Y-y-you're…" I said, stuttering badly.

"I'm who?" the teen said angrily.

"Y-you're… Zach?" I said, half-hoping he would deny me. Instead, his eyes, once full of anger, became rather perplexed.

"How… how do you know my name?" he asked, the anger still present, but now in a more… questioning tone.

"You… you don't remember me?" I said, instantly realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course he wouldn't remember me. Not after all this time.

"Should I?" Zach asked, the anger completely gone by now.

"No… not after all that time… Zach Gowen." I said, still shaking a little. At my words, Zach instantly started to sweat.

"How do you know me?" he asked, a bit more worried now.

"I… I knew you the best. After all…" I said, trying to calm myself down. "You were my best friend."

"What are you talking abou-" Zach started, before something slammed into his head. "N-no… You can't be… Cameron?"

Despite the fact that I was still confused as all hell, the thought of my old best friend becoming a nervous wreck in front of me was rather amusing. "That's my name. Don't wear it out."

Now it was _his_ turn to start shaking badly. He collapsed in his chair behind him, trying to process everything. I couldn't blame him, I was trying as well.

After maybe two minutes of trying to get our shit together, Zach told me to sit, he was being impolite.

I sat down, and for the first time actually looked around the room I was in. It seemed like a cross between an office and a blacksmith. In the corner we were in, the large desk, made of very fancy oak, took up quite a lot of space. Several tidy shelves with various nicknacks decorated the rest of the corner.

The blacksmith part of the room was huge. A giant furnace with lava was in the opposite corner from us. Crafting tables and anvils, all of which looked extremely well used, were scattered all over the place. Several tools and weapons were also stashed everywhere, from picks to swords, everything.

Anyway, it was Zach who spoke first. "I… I don't believe it… Cameron, how the hell did you survive?!"

"Dude… that's a very sensitive topic." I said, trying to convey with my voice that I didn't want to talk about that.

"Still… when I woke up, everything was destroyed! No one else made a sound! How did you live when everything else died?" he pressured on. He could be extremely hard-headed if he wanted to.

" _I_ lived because I was in a bunker. How did you live?" I asked, trying to take attention away from me.

"Honestly… I'm not sure how. Part of a ceiling was on top of me… maybe that's how. Anyway, I'm surprised you made it. You were always… less physical than most." Zach said, the last bit with a lower tone.

"Yeah, well, six years in the wild with only swords and food to keep me going has a way on a person." I said, leaning back. This was madness… first my sister lives, and now my best friend? Insane.

"Well… I guess that living with some old family friends didn't work, huh?" he said. I remembered, his parents actually didn't live in my old town. They lived in a much bigger city, but they still wanted Zach to have a normal life and make friends his own age. So they sent him to live with some family friends of his parents.

That thought made me sad, and angry. "At least… you didn't lose someone important to you." I said, unable to hold it.

"What…" he started, but then the facts clicked. "No… your whole family?"

"No… somehow I learned my sister made it as well. She's actually living in this city." I said. For a brief moment, his face changed to one of hate, before returning to normal. "Still don't like her I see."

"I never knew she lived here. But… your parents?" he said, before seeing the look on my face. It said, quite plainly, "Stop while you're ahead. Now."

He instantly dropped the subject. At that moment, loud talking was heard from the shop area of the building. "What's going on out there…"

It was too faint to make out anything specific, but I'm pretty sure I hear Snowy's voice, arguing. "Oh no… my friend is getting antsy without me…"

"You brought a friend with you? Well why did you bring them with you? JERRY!" Zach said, shouting out the last bit. The sound of complaining died, and footsteps grew louder.

"Yes Boss?" the cashier from earlier said, sticking his head. For the briefest of seconds, he looked amazed at me, probably because I wasn't dead or something. Then he regained himself when Zach spoke.

"Bring this man's friend back here. Sounds like you two aren't getting along." Zach ordered. Jerry, I guess was his name, darted back, and ten seconds later, Snowy came bounding into the room.

"Ma- er, Cameron!" she said, hugging me tightly.

"Urk! Snowy… you're… squeezing… too… much…" I got out. Snowy realized how tightly she was holding me, and quickly loosed herself.

Zach looked a bit surprised. "You didn't say that you're friend was a girl." he said. Some part of my brain could almost detect a small amount of… was he impressed?

After a few more seconds, Snowy released me, and sat down in the other chair next to us. "So… my name is Snowy." she said, a bit awkwardly.

"Zach. Zach Gowen. CEO of Gowen Industries, richest teen in this city. I'm not bragging by the way." he introduced, sounding like he had already said this a million times over by now. "And now, I guess returning best friend to Cameron."

"You two are best friends?" Snowy asked, looking at me.

"Yeah. We grew up in the same town together. Before… you already know." I said. "Anyway… it's been way too long Gowen. I see you've done nice out here."

"No kidding. You wouldn't believe the market for weapons right now, especially new ideas for weapons." he said, leaning back.

"I noticed you're fancy set of hidden blades in the front. You set the bar rather steep on those, you know that?" I said.

"Oh right, those." Zach started. "Well… the reason those are so pricey is that… those are one of a kind. See, it took me well over two hundred tries to get those to work right. The amount of ore I spent on those… anyway, I could make more, but I need to get a return on my initial investment."

"Since when did you become the poster boy for business management?" I joked. He once said to me that he couldn't stand just sitting down in an office, writing paper after paper.

"Haha. Very funny." Zach said sarcastically. I realized just how easy it was to talk to him. It's almost like we never had been separated at all.

"But in all seriousness, Zach, we have to talk more. I need to catch up with you." I said. Zach didn't seem to share my enthusiasm

"I wish I could, but… I'm busy. And after work, I have to meet Bla-" he replied, before quickly shutting up. But he revealed too much.

"Bla? Who's Bla?" I said, trying to suppress a smile. Now Zach had to tell, because however much he could try to dig himself out of his grave, he knew I was still going to be just as persistent.

"I… I don't want to talk about that." he said, uncomfortable.

'Time to use the good old fashioned persuasion.' I thought to myself. I was surprised that Vivianna still hadn't spoken to me. Maybe she found this whole thing very interesting.

"Come on, you can't back out now. You've gone too far to back up now." I said, unable to resist the smile forming on my face.

"N-no… I…" he started, really looking embarrassed now.

"Hey, Snowy." I whispered. Zach was too distracted to notice. "You're good at persuasion. Get him to say who Bla is."

"On it." Snow said with a small smile. She looked at Zach, who was still thinking. "Ahem. Mister?"

"Huh?" Zach said, surprised that Snowy spoke to him. But that was his mistake.

In a flash, the "Puppy Dog Eyes" were directed right at him. Zach couldn't help but stare in a trance. "Misterrrr… can you plllleeeeaaassee tell us who Bla is?" she asked, sounding so damn cute.

"Aww…" Gowen let out, unable to resist. Now a small tear was forming in the corner of Snowy's eye. 'Got him.' was my only thought.

"I… al… alright! I'll tell!" he gave up. Snowy quickly called off the Puppy Eyes and turned, smiling happily at me. "Jeez… that's not very fair." Zach said.

"No turning back now Gowen. Tell us." I said. Zach sighed, and told us to wait there. He got up and went out a small side door at the other end of the room.

In five minutes, he came back, looking worried. "Now… Cameron, Snowy… this is my… friend… Blake."

In walked… a girl. A tall girl with black hair, and a black fighting outfit. On her head rested a small black bow. The only thing differently colored was her eyes, which were a rich gold color. A large sword was strapped to her back, and several other smaller knives and daggers adorned the belt around her waist. What caught my eye, even though I didn't stare, was her chest. DD, or maybe G. Hard to tell.

Anyway, Zach introduced us. "Blake, this is my old… err, this is my best friend, Cameron, and his friend Snowy. Cameron, Snowy, this is my… girlfriend, Blake.

Blake took one look at us. Then, she hissed. "Zach… what is HER kind doing here?!"

"Who? Snowy?" I asked, looking at Snowy. She looked confused, and the smallest bit angry.

"What do you mean?" Zach asked, also confused.

"You should know! What do you think that hood is for?!" Blake said, not very happy at all.

Now Snowy was looking more angry. "Grrr… I don't like this…"

I was getting really nervous now. I didn't want to spill the beans about Snowy. Not now. "I don't get it. She can't wear a hood because it's cold?" I said, trying to defuse the situation.

"Shut it, human!" Blake said, before realizing she made a mistake.

Human?

For the count of ten, no one spoke.

Then Snowy rose. "I… I don't like the way your talking to my friend, miss." she said, in her calm-but-ready-to-go-down-needed voice.

"Maybe you should step out of the room for now, Snowy…" Zach suggested, but Blake didn't share that idea.

"No. You're not leaving until you show yourself!" Blake called out, drawing a small dagger. "Whether or not you're alive when you do, that's up to you.

"Woah woah woah…" I said, rising angrily. "Now, I don't really like the sound of your voice. How about you calm down, and explain yourself first. Gowen. Control her."

"Shut UP, human!" Blake shouted again, gripping her dagger more tightly.

Again, no one made a sound again.

"Show yourself!" Blake shouted.

Then, Snowy did it. With an angry snarl, she threw the hood off herself, revealing her two wolf ears and tail. Thankfully, the windows were closed right now, so no one could see this.

"Snowy!" I said, surprised. But Snowy didn't care.

"Okay. I revealed myself. Now it's your turn." Snowy snarled back, her eyes getting more and more red by the second.

Gowen was getting worried, and confused. "Now, hold on everyone! Let's not get hasty and do something we might regret here…"

But now Blake reached up and grabbed the ribbon on her head. She pulled it off and…

Two small, black cat ears poked out of her hair. Then, she did something behind her back, and a long tail poked out, black as well.

 **(I know what you all are thinking, and yes, this character is basically Blake from the RWBY series. This is on Zach Gowen's, or butterman0522's request. He is my close friend, so I let him chose his girlfriend in my story. But this is not turning into a RWBY story, I swear. It's only because he asked me to include Blake.)**

The two girls looked ready to start fighting. I quickly knew I had to be the voice of reason. "GIRLS! GIRLS!" I shouted, standing in between the two. "Both of you, calm down, NOW. I'm not going to stand for either of you to get hurt, so let's quiet down, and listen to each other for a minute."

"Listen to him!" Zach added, quickly standing next to me. "Let's not kill each other today! Just hear each other out!"

Slowly, very slowly, they listened. Both of them took a second to take some deep breaths, and then, they both nodded.

So, now a lot more calm, the two waited, but made sure to growl or hiss at each other once or twice before Zach could get more chairs from the back.

Soon, the four of us sat in a circle in the middle of the room, me and Snowy on one side, Zach and Blake on the other, obviously. Snowy and Blake were still shooting daggers at each other with their eyes.

"Okay… so." I tried to start, but I quickly realized that I had nothing. Thankfully, Zach took over for now.

"Snowy… you're a… wolf girl?" he asked.

"Yes… I'm half wolf. That a problem?" she asked, still miffed.

"No… just… I'm surprised that you wanted to come to a human city, even if you hid the ears and tail." Zach said.

"Anyway!" I said, trying to tell Gowen with my eyes, 'Dude, she's already angry. Don't piss her off more.'

"Now then…" I said, once everyone took another deep breath. "Blake… you're half ocelot, yes?"

"Yes…" Blake said, not looking happy that I was speaking to her. But I didn't care.

"Alright, how did you two meet each other, then?" I said.

Mostly Zach took over for here. Apparently, while he was out in a jungle not too far from here, he took a small break from practicing his sword play to have a fish snack. He took some fresh fish he caught from a nearby lake and started to cook. And that's when Blake showed up. At first, he didn't notice, but soon he felt like someone was watching him. He looked up and for just a second, he saw a flash of black. After he went back to cooking, he was about to take a bite when he saw the black color again, but he didn't look up.

Slowly, Blake drew closer and closer, until she tapped his shoulder gently. He looked over to see her pleading if she could have some fish. Some cooked fish later, and Blake started to think Zach was nice. So, with a few precautions to make sure her animal parts wouldn't be found, she moved to the city and had been living there with Zach for almost two years now. And those two… well, their relationship grew and grew with time.

"Huh… quite the history you two have." I said. Even Snowy had ditched her angry mood and looked at the two with a new kind of respect.

"What about you two?" Blake asked, still not totally over her anger. But now Snowy didn't care.

Me and Snowy launched into the story of how we met each other. But we did leave out some things, like Susie of course. We also left out… that night. We both promised to not talk about that with anyone but ourselves.

When we finished, Zach looked a bit shocked at us. Blake still looked a bit upset, but her expression had softened considerably. That was a good start.

"Wow… we both have some weird stories, eh?" Zach said.

"I guess so. Now, please, let's not try to kill each other, okay girls?" I asked, looking at the two. For a moment, they didn't say anything.

Then Snowy stuck her hand out. "Let's… start over." she said.

Blake didn't move for the count of five, before she gave up, sighed, and stuck out her hand. The two had a quick handshake. "By no means does this mean we are buddy buddy." Blake warned.

"Of course. It'll take much longer to get to that." Snowy said. This actually got a small smile from Blake.

I sighed deeply in relief. "Good. Thank Notch…"

"What'd we do to deserve these two, eh buddy?" Zach said.

"No fucking clue." I said.

 _Another few minutes of catching up later…_

I glanced at my watch at a some point.

 _5:25 pm_

"Oh shit… we gotta get moving." I said. Snowy looked at my watch, and realized my sense of urgency.

"Sorry we can't stay longer." I said, grabbing my bag, Snowy grabbing her hood.

"Wait!" Zach called out, before running to the front. A few seconds later, and he came back with the two beautiful hidden blades from before. "Here. A parting gift. I'm not leaving my best friend with nothing."

I was surprised as he handed me the weapons. "Are you sure Gowen? I mean… these cost a lot…"

"Take them. I can make more now. I've nailed down how to make them, so all I need to do is get enough ore." he said, making it clear he would not take no for answer.

I slipped the blades on my arms, and tested them. A satisfying sound of metal on metal rang out as the blades quickly exposed themselves, looking sharpened to a very fine point. "Thank you." I said, grateful.

"Don't mention it. See you some other time, bro." he said, and we quickly pounded fists. Our old way of saying 'see you later'.

I turned to the door, but found that Blake was standing in front of me. With a… neutral expression.

"I don't know all that much about you…" she started, hands on her hips.

"Yes?" I responded.

"But… I guess you are okay. For a human." she said, a small bit of superiority still in her voice. "And you…" she said, turning to Snowy. "Well… you're… okay, I suppose."

"Same here." Snowy said, her voice sounding cheerful, but there was a slight undertone to it, like if Blake pushed Snowy the wrong way…

"Heh. See you both later." Blake said, shaking our hands, a small smile on her face. She turned and walked away.

"Couldn't resist the cat girl, eh?" I teased Zach. Before he could even respond, I ran out the door, Snowy in tow.

 _About ten minutes later…_

Finally, we reached my sister's apartment. Snowy and I both decided to stay the night, because it was already getting dark quick. I knocked on the door, wondering if she was inside.

The door opened, and my sister peeked out. She looked relieved when she saw us, and opened the door all the way so we could get inside.

"Finally… I was thinking you two got lost." Paige said.

"Well, we did a little. This city is huge after all." I said, sitting down on the couch again. "Hey, I got chicken!"

And that's what we had for dinner. Thankfully, Paige also got one as well, so there was plenty to go around. Snowy herself almost ate a whole chicken herself, while me and my sister finished off the other.

Soon, the three of us were back in the living room, relaxing. Until Paige asked, "Hey Cameron, what are those things on your arms?"

"These?" I asked, showing her the gauntlets. "Just some fancy pieces of metal… until you flick your wrist."

I flicked my wrists, and out popped the blades. My sister stared in surprise at the complex machine. "Woah… those must have cost a fortune."

"Nope. Got em for free." I said, relaxing my wrist.

"You got those for free? How?" my sister asked. I would have said from my friend, but then again, I really didn't want to have yet another explaining moment today. I was tired.

So I fibbed a little. "Oh, some store was throwing them out, so I grabbed a nice pair and shined them up a little. A local blacksmith helped with that."

"Lucky… you get fancy weapons, and all I get is a chicken." Paige pouted.

"Haha." I said.

"Anyway, Snowy? Are you burning up? Don't you want to take off the hood?" my sister asked.

Snowy, who normally would have tried to object with that, instead turned to me. She gave me a look that asked quite plainly, 'Should I?'

After a few seconds of thinking about it, I gave her a look that said, 'You're call.'

Snowy sighed, and then undid the hood. But she didn't pull it off all the way. She knew better. Instead, she simply raised the hood up just enough to let Paige see the two wolf ears.

Paige's eyes went wide. "W-w-what?! H-hold on!" she stuttered out, running over and closing the blinds to the window. Seeing that it was safe now, Snowy fully pulled the hood off.

"Well Paige?" Snowy said, looking expectantly.

"W-what?" my sister got out.

"Is it wrong that a half wolf snuck into a city?" Snowy asked.

"I-I-I mean… y-you haven't been caught yet… a-and… half wolf… that's new…" my sister said, her voice getting progressively weaker.

"I think she didn't think that a monster girl could sneak around the city." I said to myself.

After calming down my sister, the three of us again relaxed in the living room. Now my sister was asking all kinds of questions to Snowy, who was more than happy to answer them. I didn't take part in their conversation, mostly because I was tired.

Finally, 8:30 rolled around, and I started looking to get into bed. "Hey Paige… *yawn*... where's the guest bedroom you mentioned…"

"Down the hallway, second door on the right…" my sister said, looking very tired as well.

Snowy and I said goodnight to her, and then we adjourned to the guest bedroom. It had a good size bed, possibly queen size. Me and Snowy would be perfectly comfortable.

We changed into the sleep clothes we packed, and got under the covers. Snowy gently got closer to me. "Mm…."

"What?" I asked quietly.

"You… you almost never have slept next to me… but it feels so normal…" Snowy told me, her eyes open.

"Because we are comfortable with each other. Is that so wrong?" I said, gently taking one of her hands and holding to my chest.

"No… I guess not. I… I love you… Master." she said, gently wrapping her arms around me and giving me a kiss. For several minutes, we simply kissed, until we needed to breathe.

"I love you too Snowy. Goodnight." I said, my eyelids getting heavy…

Slowly, the two of us passed out in each other's arms…

 _Later that night…_

Once again, I returned to Vivianna in my dreams.

"You seem like you had fun." Vivianna commented, a smile on her face.

"Of course I did. I'm just surprised that you didn't talk much." I said.

"Well, I was busy looking around. After all, I've only lived in that one lake in the middle of the forest… for as long as I can remember." Vivianna replied, sounding the tiniest bit sad.

"Well… now you can see the world while helping me." I said, wrapping an arm around her. She looked at my smiling face, and she couldn't help but crack a smile too.

"Hm hm… that's true, isn't it." she said, not asking it like a question. We both already knew the answer.

"So… what do you want to do? I mean… we've talked a lot about ourselves…" I asked her. Vivianna looked thoughtful, before looking around at the blackness around us.

"Hmmm… this place is rather dull…" she said. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Hold on… close your eyes." I said. Vivianna looked a little surprised, but she did as I asked. I closed my eyes as well, and thought of…

When I opened my eyes, suddenly, we were at the lake, the one close to the house. "Open your eyes. Is this better?" I told Vivianna.

When she opened her eyes, she looked a little surprised to see the new scenery around us. "Wha… how did you…"

"Hey, you said it yourself." I said, snapping my fingers. Suddenly, a pair of shades were over my eyes. "This is a dream. And anything can happen in dreams."

A wide smile appeared on Vivianna's face. "You do realize I have control over your dreams as well." she said, snapping her fingers. Now we were sitting down on two chairs, right at the water's edge. "After all, I'm in your head."

A small laugh escaped me, and then I simply relaxed in the chair I was in. "Well… I could get used to this." I said.

"As well as I." Vivianna said, leaning back as well. For a few minutes, we simply leaned back and let the sun shine down on us...

"Mmm… there's so much we can try in the dream world…" I said, sitting back up again.

"What would you have in mind?" Vivianna asked, still leaned back.

"I don't know. Whatever we want." I said, standing. My mind cast around different ideas. Nothing really seemed to click.

Then, a question for Vivianna rose in my mind. "What was it like? You know, to live in the lake." I asked.

Vivianna sat up. "Hmm… how about I show you?"

"Sure. We have all night." I said. A second later, I blinked…

And I was at the bottom of her old lake. But… I couldn't see myself. I knew I was right there, and could feel my arms and such, but… I was invisible.

"This is what it was like." Vivianna said, sounding close by. I couldn't see her at first, but then the water bubbled, and she appeared before me, hair floating aimlessly about in the water. "Simply practicing my craft, staying hidden from the naked eye. I only showed myself if I wanted to."

Her form turned invisible again, but all of the sudden, she was right next to me. I knew because her hand grabbed mine. "And… it was okay for a long time. But…"

"Let me guess." I said softly. I was a bit surprised that my voice sounded the same, but then I remembered the whole dream thing. "You got lonely. Not many people came around to your spring."

"No… lots of people did come… in fact, at least once a week someone, human or beast, asking for my help. But… they never really cared about me. Most never even thanked me, even if I saved them from near-death. After a while… I became angry… thinking that I wouldn't help anyone else anymore… if no one thanked me for my help, why should I give it to them…"

"And then… you came along. You and your friends… they convinced me to heal you. And… you were thankful. You… you cared. That's… that's why I wanted to come with you. Because… I wanted to help people who care… not the ones who only want to get better just so they can keep going." Vivianna said, becoming visible again.

Her face… she looked so sad. Tears looked like they were forming in the corners of her eyes. How could anyone have been like that to this nice girl? Monster or human… that's just not right.

Since I could see her now, I gently wrapped my arms around her. "Well… I learned a long time ago that if a person isn't thankful for what they have, or what they get, then… they'll never be happy. Those people were wrong to not have thanked you. You're… you're a good person Vivianna. Of course I would thank you." I said, willing myself to become visible again.

For a second, she just looked into my eyes. Then, a sad smile forms on her face. "Thank you… Cameron… for being there… for me…" she got out, before tightly hugging me, softly sobbing behind me.

"Shhh… it's okay…" I said, rubbing her back. In response, she simply squeezes me tighter. But I didn't mind. If she wanted to simply hug me and cry all night… then I'd be fine with it. Because she needed it.

It was a good long while before Vivianna stopped crying. "*sniff* S-sorry… heh… here I am, a powerful water spirit, and I'm crying my eyes out…"

"That fine." I said. "Everyone needs to cry at some point. Even Notch himself probably cried at something. But… if you ever need to let that out again…"

I squeezed her a little, a smile on my face. "I'll be right there. For you."

Vivianna, whose face had been streaked with a few tears, cast me a gentle smile, before pulling me close. A second later, and the two of us kiss softly, gently holding each other in a warm embrace.

After two minutes, we pulled away, even though I wanted to continue a little more. She was a really good kisser. "Thank you Cameron… you truly are a kind human." she told me.

I didn't say anything. I simply stared into her swirling blue eyes. It almost made me a bit dizzy to look into them. She stared back at me.

Another few seconds pass, and our lips meet again. And again. And again. The whole night I think was spent with just us, human and water spirit, kissing each other in the swirling water around us. Eventually, we started making out, moaning into each other's mouths. Again, she was a REALLY good kisser.

"Cam… I lov… you…" she tried to say, through our tight lip lock. I was pulling her closer and closer…

Until I realized she couldn't get any closer. And that I somehow ended up on my back, with her still exploring inside my mouth. 'Damn… we're really going at it, aren't we?' I thought to myself. Vivianna must have heard my thoughts, because for the first time in… I don't even know how long, she pulled away from me.

"Is… is that wrong?" she asked, looking down at my face.

"Of course not. We have all night. Just… when did I get here?" I told her. She looked around, and saw what I was talking about.

"Hm hm hm…" she laughed to herself. "Sorry. Got a little carried away…"

She pulls me back into a sitting position, and starts the kissing again… until she pulls me suddenly, causing me to now be on top of her.

'You're turn.' she spoke in my mind, not wanting to break apart from me. After a second, I quickly got right back into the kiss…

I'm not exactly sure how long we stayed there. Honestly, it felt like a whole day had passed, with just us two together. But Vivianna told me that it was only two thirty in the morning once we finally stopped making out.

"Seriously? It's only been that long?" I asked her.

"Yep… time flows very differently here. You should know that very well." she told me. Bad thoughts started creeping into my mind… and no, not the dirty kind! The old me kind… the nightmares…

"Cameron?" Vivianna called out to me. I realized I closed my eyes, and was starting to shake in fear. I opened them to see her really close to me, with… a very worried expression.

"I-I'm fine… just… things came to mind, that's all." I said, my voice shaking slightly. Vivianna noticed my tone, and thankfully did not choose to go further. She already knew.

"I see…" she said, now hugging me softly. "Don't worry… I'm here. If you need to cry on my shoulder for once… I'm here for you."

"You stole what I said." I said, a smile playing on my face.

"Still… I mean it. I've… I've delved into those memories… the things there… you really have suffered quite a lot. And… now it's my turn to make sure you feel better." she told me, squeezing my hand.

For a good while, I didn't say anything. I let her words sink into me.

Then…

"Thank you… Vivianna… thank you…" was all I said.

The words caused her to hold me tighter, closer to her. To her warmth. To her comfort.

I…

I never wanted to let go.

 _Time skip to 9:30 am…_

A huge yawn escaped me as I woke from my deep and peaceful sleep. The sun shone brightly through the window, right onto Snowy's sleepy face. She was still holding onto my arm…

The second I tried to move it out of her grasp, she slide closer to me, tightening her grip on my arm. 'Ugh… Snowy… not when I'm hungry.' I thought, my stomach lightly growling at me.

" _Stuck again, eh?"_ Vivianna spoke to me. " _Maybe try to wake her up."_

'I would, buuut…' I thought, looking back at Snowy's sleep form. The look on her face… I didn't want to force her to get up. I'd rather let her get up as she pleases. And if that means I have to wait a few more minutes, then so be it.

'I'll just wait. I don't want to see the look on her face if I force her out of her dreams.' I told Vivianna.

" _You're call Cameron. I'm not the one who gets to tell you what you do."_ Vivianna told me.

Thankfully, Snowy stirred gently from her sleep five minutes after I started waiting. She must have been sleeping funny, because a part of her hair was sticking up when she slowly sat up and stretched.

"Morning Snowy…" I said quietly. Snowy looked over at me, and smiled gently. She gently pulled me into a quick kiss, as her way of saying 'good morning' to me.

"I love seeing your face first thing in the morning… Master." she said, waiting for praise.

"I love seeing yours too. Now come on. We have to get some breakfast, and then it's back home we go." I said, gently pulling out of her grip. She nodded, getting dressed as well.

When we walked out of the bedroom, gentle breathing could be heard from the door directly across the hall. Peeking in, my sister was in her large bed, her face peaceful.

"Should we wake her, or…?" Snowy asked me.

"Let's let her sleep. She seemed very tired after getting home yesterday. Interrupting her sleep would not do her any good at all." I said, tiptoeing away from the door. Snowy followed, making sure her hood was on.

After writing her a note, saying that we were going to make a few more stops around, and then we would be leaving at noon, we walked out the apartment, and down to the cobblestone street.

After stopping at a different restaurant, this one thankfully nicer to travelers, we walked about the street, looking for anything last minute to buy. I still had twenty five coins in my pocket, and I hadn't even bought a present for Susie back home.

"Hmm… what would she like…" I said, passing by lots of shops. Clothes? No… Books? Nah, I already had quite a lot…

"Maybe that one?" Snowy asked, pointing at a shop close to the main gates. It was a rather small shop, with "Potions, Medicine, and other Goods" on a small hand made sign on the door.

We entered, and inside… a mess of multicolored potions and medicines adorned the walls and counters. Healing, weakness, water breathing… all kinds of potions, both good and bad, were everywhere.

Suddenly, I knew exactly what to get Susie.

 _Time skip to noon…_

Finally, noon rolled around. Snowy and I headed to the main gates, and were pleasantly surprised when we saw Paige close by. "Hey." she said as we got closer.

"Got my note, did you?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Sorry, when I work, I get tired easily. So that means I sleep in a lot of days. Ah well, at least I get to see you guys on the way out." my sister replied. "Did you get all the stuff you bought yesterday?"

"Yep. And I got something else as a little gift for Susie." I said. "I'm not gonna say anything yet, but I think she'll like it."

"For your sake, I hope you're right." my sister told me, also adding that she was gonna see me to the door.

After talking with the guards, they let the three of us exit, and then we stood a bit further away from the wall.

"Well… thank you for visiting." Paige said, a little awkwardly.

"No trouble. We'll be sure to come back some other time." I said, holding my hand out.

"I'll miss you two." she said, taking my hand and shaking it.

"I'll miss you, miss Paige." Snowy said, hugging Paige. She was surprised at Snowy's actions, but soon returned the gesture.

Soon, me and Snowy were at the top of the hill again. We glanced back once, and saw my sister, waving at us. We waved back, and soon we walked into the forest.

 _Third person POV…_

Cameron and Snowy started the long walk back home, happy that the trip was a success.

But what they didn't see, was the figure hiding behind the tree, only a few feet off. "Hmm… where are they going…"

The figure followed after them, but slowly, silently.

In its wake was purple dust, floating in the air.

 **Well then, that is a very long chapter! You guys like the new length? If you want, I can start making chapters about as long as this. But if you all still want only the 5000 word chapters, let me know.**

 **Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Don't worry, the Neptunia story's next chapter will be out by Friday, if not tomorrow. I just felt like I should get a new chapter out for you guys.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, be sure to PM me with your ingame username, what server and when. And if you still wish to join my survival server, PM me asking me if you can join it. Still spots are open on that. Until next time, my dedicated readers, stay awesome.**


	24. An Awkward Meeting

**What is up all of you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter to my story! Still hoping you all are liking how everything has been rolling so far.**

 **When we last left off, Cameron and Snowy had just left the city that Paige lives in, and are heading back home. But they are being followed by a new figure. Ten bucks says you know who it was.**

 **Anyway, let's jump right back in!**

Chapter 24: An Awkward Meeting

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Thirty minutes after the last chapter ended…_

"Finally… we're home." I said.

The house was right there, just at the end of the small field we called our front yard. Me and Snowy both walked toward it, both of us rather tired. I guess it was because of the new stuff we were carrying. Even Snowy had a bag with her now, filled with all of her stuff.

We reached the front door, and knocked. Susie opened the door, looking a little tired. But when she saw it was us, her whole attitude changed. In a BIG way.

"Cameron! Snowy!" she said, wrapping both of us in a huge hug. For a second, all I could see was green. Then she loosened her grip and practically dragged us back into the house.

"I missed both of you so much!" Susie said, joyful.

"Susie… please let us go." I said, getting a bit uncomfortable with how she was holding me.

It took several minutes, but eventually she did let go of us. After a quick lunch, (Snowy and I both decided to wait till we got home for lunch.) we rested in the living room.

But of course, since Susie wanted to continue hugging me, but Snowy still wanted to be near me, that meant those two crowded in the same chair as me. It was a bit cramped, but it felt nice to be close to those two all the same.

Susie asked the both of us a lot of questions, from everything that happened to the stuff we brought back home. She was very surprised when the pieces of metal on my arms were revealed to be lethal weapons. Then her and Snowy had a girl moment when Snowy showed Susie the new outfits.

"My." Susie said, after twenty minutes. "You two both sound like you had the time of your lives."

"Hold on, Susie! I almost forgot…" I said, digging around in one more bag. I found what I was looking for.

"I got you something while we were there." I said, showing her what I got.

"Is that…" Susie asked, eyes getting slightly bigger. A small potion set, complete with a basic brewing stand was in my hands. The whole thing worked when a small, controlled fire was lit underneath it.

"Yep. I figured since you didn't have one, I'd get a brewing set for you." I said. At first, Susie didn't know what to say. She always had trouble making potions before, but this would help. I hoped.

Susie took the brewing set carefully, holding it like it was glass. For once, she was at a loss for words.

Then she finally spoke. "T-t-thank you… Cameron…" she said.

"It's no problem, Susie. It was nothing, I swear." I said, standing up to take the brewing set back. She let me take it and, on her request, set it down in the small work area of the house, on one of the furnaces.

I turned to head back to the chair… only to be met with a bear hug from Susie, who must have followed me silently. "Thank you… so much…"

"Hey, it's no problem." I said, surprised. 'How is she so stealthy like that?' I asked myself, but no answers came to mind.

For a long time, Susie simply hugged me tightly. I'm not sure when, but at some point Snowy got in on the hug too, wanting to be a part of this. So it was just us three, hugging together in our house.

Just like normal.

 _Time skip to 3:00 pm…_

For a while, I spent some time upstairs sorting out the remaining rooms. We had Snowy's room and a storage room all set up, but I didn't know what to put in the other rooms. We had about three more empty rooms, waiting.

"Well… probably should get another guest bedroom ready. Snowy took the first one we made." I said to myself, getting to work. After another hour, most of the room was done, I just had to place a few more small decorations.

But while I was doing that… I felt something behind me. I turned around, but nothing was there. Maybe I was just tired from all the heavy lifting I had been doing.

So I went back to work, adding a few pictures to the wall. But two minutes later, I felt it again. Someone was right behind me, watching me.

I quickly turned around, but I still saw nothing. 'Urgh… snap out of it…' I thought to myself.

Now I tried to place some chests, in case whoever stayed here had stuff they wanted to store for a while. But after placing down only one large chest, the feeling from before struck me again. But now, I simply ignored it.

What a mistake that was.

A faint breath was heard. Barely audible. So light that I almost missed it. But I did. And then, a small bit of purple dust floated past my head.

'Oh, shit…' I thought. I didn't want to look. I already knew what creature was behind me. An enderman.

Slowly, without looking behind me, I stood and slowly walked sideways to the door. The enderman did nothing.

I put my hand on the door handle, gripping it tightly. Still no response from the ender. Ender was my nickname for endermen.

I creaked the door open…

And just barely managed to shout, "SNOWY! SUSIE! COM- MMHG!" before it finally reacted, pulling me away from the door and placing it's hand over my mouth.

"Quiet!" the ender hissed.

'Wait… it talked? And with a female voice…' I thought through my panic. But I could hear footsteps quickly coming toward the door.

"Shit… now you've done it…" the female said behind me. Suddenly, she forcefully stuffed some cloth in my mouth, a gag. I couldn't say anything even if I wanted to.

Susie and Snowy reached and threw open the door, but stopped instantly when they saw what was going on.

"Nobody move!" the endergirl said behind me, suddenly holding a rather large, sharpened knife to my throat. "Or he gets it."

For a few seconds, no one said anything. Snowy looked furious, but she couldn't do anything without getting me hurt. Susie, on the other hand, looked at me, eyes full of fear. I did my best to convey with my eyes a message that said, 'I'll… I'll get out of this, I swear.'

Suddenly, the ender grabbed my hands and pinned them to my back, starting to tie them quickly with a rope. I struggled, but I couldn't break the tight bonds on my wrists.

"Pleasure doing business with you." the endergirl said mockingly. "Goodbye!"

And with that, she grabbed my hand and teleported, taking me with her.

Let me tell you… teleporting was not exactly my favorite thing. Imagine your stomach dropping after falling down a flight of stairs. Now multiply that feeling by fifty or so, and you'll have a decent idea of how it felt.

Suddenly, just as quickly as it started, it stopped. I collapsed to my knees, weak from the teleporting. Fortunately, I was quickly recovering, but I still felt a little sick.

"I… I…" the endergirl said slowly.

"I finally… did it…"

"I finally caught and restrained a human!"

She sounded very ecstatic about all of this, but I wasn't. I was sweating hard, as the situation hit me. 'Oh shit… Vivianna! I need help!"

" _I know! I'm thinking… I can't help you break the bonds on your hands. If you can get those off your arms, then I can help you fight."_ Vivianna said to me, her voice sounding a small bit panicked as well.

'Break the bonds…' I thought, trying to think up a way. 'If I can get my sword…'

But before I could try and reach for it, the endergirl, who I still couldn't see as she was behind me, suddenly started getting my tool belt and my bag. "Nope. You're not gonna be needing these…"

"MMM!" I complained, but that was as much as I could say right now. 'Great, now what can I…'

That's when I remembered. The hidden blades. She hadn't taken them off yet. I thought back to Gowen's words…

' _Well… the reason those are so pricey is that… those are one of a kind.'_

One of a kind. As in, no one had ever seen these before. This gave me a huge advantage over her. 'But… can I cut the rope and not myself?' was my worry.

Meanwhile, the girl behind me was still talking. "We're still pretty close… I need to get further away from that house soon, or else…"

She kept on talking, but now it sounded like she had turned around. Now was my chance. I quietly flicked my wrists. Thankfully, she didn't hear the blades slide out. The blades cut the rope like butter, though not all the way. 'Good… almost there…'

I reset the blades and was about to do it again, but then the ender turned again. "Hmm… I can't believe I caught an actual human… for the first time in… ever."

Her small rant continued. "I mean… who would've guessed it? Me, the outcast of the clan, actually managed to contain someone. A male as well. That's even harder to do. But I did it! Finally… maybe I'll get some respect! I'll… I'll get friends, I'll be popular, everyone will know me…"

She slowly continued the small rant, thinking I couldn't do anything. Trying to see what would happen, I struggled a little on my bonds. The ropes still held, but if I could get another good slice on them…

"Eh? What are you doing?" the endergirl suddenly said, flipping me on my stomach. "You can't break free. You're completely stuck!"

That thought made her hum to herself a little. "Hmmm… stuck… as in you can't do anything to stop me… maybe I can have a little fun first…"

I really didn't like the sound of that. Especially with that… sultry tone in her voice.

"Hmm… was that in the rule book? About having fun with hostages? Let me think…" she said, humming again. Clearly, she was a bit scatterbrained.

'Now or never…' I thought, giving the blades another shot. This time, the rope cut clean through. I was free, but… if I wanted to get out of this, then I needed the element of surprise.

So, I quickly flipped over on my back, on top of my hands, struggling like I was still stuck. That forced the endergirls attention back on me.

"Hmmm? Still trying?" she said, with the sound of footsteps coming closer. All of the suddenly, my glasses get taken off of my face, and another cloth comes over my eyes, which she ties around my head.

"MMMH!" I complained, as the sound of her walking around me was heard.

Then, suddenly, her voice sounded again, sounding very close to my face. "Nope. I don't remember any rules about not getting to have fun with a hostage. Well then, maybe I'll give you something to remember. Something… I think you'll like.

Slowly, I felt her lay down on top of me. My panic level was rising rapidly, but I forced myself to wait. I needed to get this right. Otherwise, this whole plan would backfire on me. Hard.

I could feel her breath getting closer and closer to my face. "Yes… I'll give you a small taste. You'll love it… I know it."

I can see it happening in my mind, very vividly. A tall, blocky ender, moving its face closer and closer to mine… it made me rather sick. 'Just… hold on… a little longer, me…' I said, almost about to get the blades out.

I can feel her breath right on my face, maybe an inch away from me. "Mmmm… I wonder what it's like to do this… to a human. This will be very fun for me… I wonder if you'll have fun…"

"But first… if I'm going to do this, then…" she paused, before a hand pulls the gag out of my mouth. 'Almost…'

"There… that's better. Now nothing can get in my way…" she said, the seductive tone growing even more. Her hand rests itself on my cheek…

'NOW!' I thought loudly, pulling my arms from under my back and quickly finding her throat, blades extended. "Do. Not. Move." I said forcefully, pressing the blades on her throat.

The endergirl, once calm and collected, now started shaking as the reality hit her. "W-what…"

"DO. NOT. MAKE. A. FUCKING. SOUND." I said even louder, pressing the blades a little harder. I was horribly inexperienced with these things, but she didn't know that.

The ender shut up quickly. But she still shook badly. "Good girl." I said forcefully, a twisted grin on my face. "Now. You will do, EXACTLY as I say. Don't even try to teleport away. If you do, I'll have to go with you."

She didn't even complain. Forcefully, I rolled over, for more leverage. Now I had her on her back. Slowly, making sure one blade was over her throat, I reached up with my free hand and pulled the blindfold off of my face, and put my glasses, which she had carelessly put off to the side, back on my face.

And…

Now, it was my turn to be confused. 'What?'

The girl on the ground… she looked human. A very scared, pale human, with purple eyes, a black coat that covered everything from the waist up, and a black cap with the enderman eyes on her head. She was very tall, easily a half block taller than me. As I was at least two blocks tall, or six foot three inches if you wanted to get technical, that was pretty tall. A small black skirt was around her waist, and long black stocking ran up her legs, leading to some small black shoes on her feet.

"You're… a half-human?" I asked, confused. But she made the mistake of taking my confusion as a weakness, as she quickly tried to get out from under me.

"Oh no you don't!" I said, thrusting the blade into the air right next to her face. That quickly made her stop moving.

The endergirl's eyes were darting left and right, trying to think of a way to get out of this. Then she saw me still looking at her with intense anger.

She… she started blushing. Oddly, her blush was purple. Must be a side effect of being an ender. "S-stop… stop looking at me like that!" she shouted, covering her face with her hands.

'Oh right… half-ender. She must not like getting stared at. At least she doesn't attack if I look at her face, whereas all other endermen would go berserk.' I thought to myself.

The endergirl raised her arms and saw my face, which, against my will, was slowly softening. "P-please… please don't hurt me…" she said, with… was that a tear in her eye?

'Goddammit, why do I have a soft spot for crying girls…' I thought angrily to myself, but I nevertheless retracted the blades. The girl sighed in relief, before I coughed to get her attention.

"Why did you kidnap me?" I said, the faintest trace of anger in my voice.

The endergirl only continued to shake in fear beneath me. "Hey, I asked you a question. Don't you know that it's impolite to not answer?" I said, anger slowly building back up again.

Finally, she spoke to me. "P-please… stop looking at me… I'll take you back… just stop looking at me…" she said weakly.

"You're gonna take me back?" I asked, my voice doubtful. "Really? After suddenly kidnapping me and then finding out that I'm dangerous, you suddenly will just let me go?"

"Y-yes… just please… stop looking at my ugly face…" she said, and now a tear was slowly rolling down her face.

Extremely confused as I was about everything that was happening, I decided that the best thing to do was to just roll with it. "Fine. Here." I said, looking slightly off to the side. I could still see everything that she did, in case she tried something, but now I wasn't looking directly at her.

"T-thank you…" she said, grateful.

"Whatever. Now, I want to ask a few more questions. And you'd better answer them." I said.

"First off, what is your name?" I asked.

"M-my name?" she asked, stuttering a little.

"Yeah, your name. So I don't have to just keep calling you endergirl or something." I said.

"M-my name… Andr." she said, quietly.

'Andr… not a name I'll forget, that's for sure.' I thought.

"Okay then, Andr. Tell me, why did you kidnap me?" I asked.

Andr thought for a long time before answering me. "I… I'm supposed to capture humans… for my clan… so that we can test them. And.. well… you're the first human that I managed to catch… if only for a little while."

'Hmm… that's… new. I never thought the monsters would actually capture humans. I thought they simply killed any that they saw.' I thought to myself.

"Okay, last question. Why in Notch's holy name did you try to kiss me?" I asked, REALLY wanting an answer for that question.

This question caused Andr to become extremely purple in her face. "Ummmmm… I… that's…"

Finally, after five minutes of her stuttering, she finally managed to work something out. "Ummm… because… well, see… I don't know exactly what happens to the humans that are captured… but I do know that it's probably not very pleasant… so I wanted to get you… one last happy memory… before sending you off."

"Didn't your mother tell you not to hang around strangers?" I said sharply. This earned me a small sniffle from the endergirl.

"I… I never knew my mother…" she said softly.

"Ohhh… shit… I'm sorry… that…" I said, realizing my mistake, but coming up with no way to take back what I said.

Andr was looking like she was about to cry. I knew I had to do something. Even if she had kidnapped me, I still couldn't just let her cry without at least TRYING to comfort her.

"Hey, look… I'm sorry. I… I didn't realize. Just… forget I said that, please." I said, trying to calm down the girl. Thankfully, after a few minutes she did calm down.

"Guh… You're mean…" she said. It was just barely audible. I almost didn't hear it.

But I still did. And you know what?

I completely agreed.

"Yeah… I deserve that." I said, just as softly. Andr seemed to be taken by surprise, but she didn't say anything. For a few minutes, she simply looked at me. I wanted to look back, but I didn't, partly because she had asked me not to, and partly because I didn't want her to see my face.

"I… guess I have to… take you back…" Andr said, still eyeing closely my hidden blades. It was at that point where I saw that we were at the top of a hill, not too far from the hill I had my first kiss with Susie. And I could also just barely see a light brown strip of wood planks in the distance, which could only mean one thing. The house.

"You… you know what… I'll walk. Just give me my stuff back and we'll pretend this never happened." I said, standing up off of her. For a moment, she looks at me dumbfounded.

"Are… are you sure?" she asked me, standing up and holding out my stuff.

"Y-yeah… I'll be fine. Just… don't ever try to do that again to me." I said, my voice regaining a little bit of anger just to make my point. I took my stuff back and, without even looking back at Andr, slowly start walking down the hill.

As I made my way back, I couldn't help but feel… guilty. Very guilty. I knew I should have been furious about what happened before. And I still was, by all means. But…

I don't know… everything happened so fast. Maybe… maybe I could've changed the past if I had acted differently. But even so… even if she kidnapped me, did she really deserve to cry? Did I… really deserve to be free right now?

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn't even notice the soft sound of teleporting behind me...

 _Five minutes later…_

I finally arrived back at the house. 'Ugh… I'm drained. Maybe I'll just go to bed early today…' I thought to myself, unlocking the door with the house key Susie had given me a long time ago.

Before I could even react, I stepped inside and was instantly met with a white flash of color coming right at me. A second later and I was on my back, with Snowy on top of me, hugging me tightly. "Master! You're back!"

"Oww… Snowy, watch that lunge. It hurts to land flat on my back, you know." I said, managing to push her off just enough to be able to sit up. Susie came running from upstairs when she heard me hit the ground.

"Cameron! What happened?" she asked, pulling me off the ground, Snowy in tow.

"I… I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say I managed to escape, and when I did, that endergirl simply disappeared in fear." I lied. I swore to myself I would tell them the truth later, but not right now. Today had been way too long of a day, and I wanted to relax.

Susie didn't look very happy with my explanation, but she could plainly see just how tired I was. "Well… come on, you look exhausted. Come over here and sit down. I'll get you something to drink…" she said, darting behind the counter.

"That sounds lovely." I said, smiling a little. Somehow, I managed to get over to my chair in the living room with Snowy still wrapped around me.

'Man… everything always seems to happen around me, huh?' I thought to myself.

" _I'll be honest. It kinda does."_ Vivianna said to me. " _Oh well. The important thing right now is for you to relax. I can help."_

'Thank you.' I told her. Just like that, a soft wave of calm spread through my whole body, making me relax.

"Master…" Snowy said, still hugging me. "Am I not doing a good job in protecting you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I mean… since I've been here, I've failed to save you twice now. First, when you were that gray mess, and now today, you were taken away by an endergirl. It… it makes me feel like I'm not doing a good job in protecting you." Snowy explained, her voice soft.

"Nononono… Snowy, of course you're doing fine. It's not your fault these things keep happening." I said quickly, trying to snap her out of it.

"I… I am?" she asked, looking me directly in the eye.

"Yes. I couldn't imagine not having you around." I said, petting her on the head. Her second favorite place to be petted.

"Mmm… I guess… if you say I'm doing okay…" Snowy said, scotting even closer to me. At that moment, Susie came from the kitchen, a few glasses in her hands.

"Here. Maybe this can help you feel more energetic." she said, handing me and Snowy a cup of tea each. I drank deeply, definitely feeling better than before.

"Thank you Susie…" I said, leaning backward into my chair. "Man… I need a break. These past few days have been… well, crazy."

"You deserve one." Susie agreed, sitting down in her chair. "I mean, first the whole you turning gray thing, then you go out and train with some freaky magic, then you go and see your sister and the town she's living in… and now you get taken away by some endergirl."

"Just a few days… that's all I want." I said, gently rubbing Snowy's back. "With just me, and you two. That's all I ask…"

And surprisingly…

I did.

For the next few days, nothing very important or interesting happened. The three of us only stayed around the house, doing small tasks. The majority of our time was spent simply relaxing around the house, doing nothing other than being with each other.

Soon, January rolled around, bringing with it chilly weather. But we were pretty cozy, what with the small fire we lit every day and the fact that Susie could make hot chocolate for the three of us. I found myself thinking that life is pretty easy going right now.

Of course, that made everything spin out of control again.

A week after I had been kidnapped, I had taken the role of going out to the mine once again so I could gather more resources. Snowy normally would've asked if she could come, but Susie needed her to stay so they could work on relocating the sickbay. Now it would be larger, and have it's own room upstairs. As an added bonus, more patients could be attended to with this bigger room.

Anyway, soon I found myself walking deeper into the cave, working toward the place where the torches ended. I'll be honest, while most find mines and caves creepy, to me… it kinda feels relaxing. Being in the mine, breaking ores and such helps clear my head, makes me think better.

I soon reached a split in the path, one I had taken before. The left path was one that was still ongoing, I hadn't reached the end of it yet. The right was still unexplored, probably filled with plenty of ore. But I wanted to leave it for now. I wanted to get to the end of one path before going down another.

So I started to head left. But just before I did… I heard something. I couldn't fully make it out exactly, but it sounded like it came from the path on the right.

Normally, a noise that didn't come from me would mean that I should get my sword out and get ready to start swinging. But this… this wasn't a normal monster noise.

Slowly, I creeped to the entrance of the right path. The sound was definitely coming from there. And… it sounded like crying.

'What the… who's down there?' I asked myself.

" _Should… should we look? I mean… I can only help so much if there's not any water down there…"_ Vivianna said to me.

After a minute of hesitation, I started walking into the cave, placing torches down. The further I got in, the louder the crying noise sounded.

Left, right, straight, right, left… the passage was long, and was riddled with ore, but I didn't mine any of it. I was too curious about that crying.

Finally, I rounded one more left cautiously, and…

The noise was revealed.

'Oh, shit.' me and Vivianna both said/thought at the same time.

The area I was in was a massive room, carved into a circle. Ores dotted everywhere on the walls and floors. And right at the end of it…

Andr.

She was sitting on the ground, her back turned away from me, and she was sobbing loudly to herself. The sound echoed throughout the whole room.

I didn't even know what to do at that point. Part of me was like, 'What the fuck is she still doing here?!' and another part was like, 'What is she upset about?'

Slowly, I tried to back up, and get the hell out of there. I wasn't too far from how I got here. If I could disappear far enough down the corridor, I could maybe get away.

But of course, life couldn't be that easy.

Suddenly, a torch I had placed on the wall next to me started to fall. I quickly tried to grab it, but it was too late. It fell from the wall, and landed on the stone floor. Loudly.

Andr's sobbing stopped instantly. My face was turning white in fear. For maybe half a second, I considered running for it.

Then she quickly turned around. And looked right at me.

For the longest time, neither of us said a word. I was sweating like crazy, knowing how monumentally screwed I was. She simply stared at my face, a tear still slowly trailing down her cheek.

"Uh…" I started, trying to find anyway to get myself out of this. My voice quickly died in my throat when she stood up. And she did not look happy.

She started walking quickly toward me. I started to panic, shealthing my sword and turning to make a run for it. But Andr quickly teleported in the hallway I had come from, trapping me.

"Nonononono…" I said quickly, backing up away from her. She kept coming closer and closer to me, until I ran out of room to back up. "S-stay… stay back!"

Andr didn't listen to me. She slowly continued her walk, until she was two blocks away from me. By now, no tears were on her face, but she still did not look glad to see me.

"You…" she started. "You have a lot of nerve… to find me after what happened."

"I-I-I-I…" I stuttered, trying to explain myself.

The look on her face forced me to shut up. I couldn't think of anyway to get myself out of this mess. And then… she rushed forward. I couldn't look, I turned right as she raised her fist…

Only…

I felt no pain.

Nothing hurt…

And… was she…

Andr was gently holding me… sobbing into my shoulder. For a second, my mind was about to explode from confusion. 'W-w-what… what is going on?' I asked myself, finding no answers.

After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and released me. "S-sorry… that kinda just… happened. I… needed a moment." she said, embarrassed.

Questions popped into my mind like fireworks, so many that I didn't even know where to start. "What… why… huh?"

"T-to… to tell you… um… the truth…" And began awkwardly. "I… I never actually wanted to send humans off… because I like humans. They're interesting to watch. But I guess… I kind of just lost it a little in the heat of the moment…"

"..." I didn't say anything. I simply stared in confusion.

"I… I said this before! Stop looking at my face!" she yelled in embarrassment. Purple blush was on her face again, which was… interesting to say the least.

"W-why…" I asked.

"B-b-b-because…" she said, clearly looking like she wanted to disappear. "I… I'm… I'm… shy…"

"B-but… isn't it impolite to not look someone in the eye when you're speaking to them?" I said, slowly calming down.

"W-well…" Andr said, unable to argue with my logic. "T-that's…"

"What… whatever." I said, dropping the subject. But I still refused to look away from her face. I found myself looking into her swirling purple eyes. When I had first met End, (Paige's boyfriend, in case you forgot.) his eyes had almost made me nauseous, whereas Andr's… they were almost hypnotic.

"W-w-w-well… now that… you're here… I… I want to say something." Andr began, light purple blush still on her face. I didn't say anything. I had a feeling where this was going.

"I… want to say… I'm sorry. For… what I did before. You know… kidnapping you and all that. I guess I kinda… lost it for a while when I saw you. Can… can we forget about what happened last week?" she said, a small tear forming in one of her eyes.

Call me insane, but I did want to forgive her. It's not her fault she was supposed to capture humans. That was just her clan's orders. Plus, I had learned long ago how to detect when people are lying. I knew for a fact that she wasn't, she spoke too… awkwardly about this. As if she didn't share this with many people.

"I… I suppose." I replied softly. Her face lights up, and she wraps me in a huge hug. "Guh! An… Andr… You're… too… strong… stop…" I choked out. I forgot that endermen have very strong grips. Not to mention they are a lot stronger than a simple sword.

"Oh!" she said, before loosening up so I could breath again.

"Thank you…" I said, grateful.

It was a good minute or so before she broke away from me. Wondering what time it was, I quickly checked my watch.

 _5:00 pm._

I returned my sight to Andr… for three seconds. Then the time slapped me in the face again.

"OH SHIT!" I yelled out, surprising Andr badly. "I've-I've… I've been gone for three hours now! Those two are going to kill me!"

I quickly grabbed my bag, which had fallen off of my shoulder without my knowledge, and started getting ready to make a run for it. But I was stopped by a hand to my shoulder.

"What?" I asked. "This better be good." I added under my breath.

"Umm… I just thought… I can make your trip much faster for you… by teleporting you there." Andr said, smiling awkwardly.

I blinked a little in surprise. "Wait, what? You… you would?" I asked, not sure I believed her.

"Of… of course. I just hope… No, nothing, never mind." she quickly said. Something… something was off here. Something I just couldn't place my finger on.

"If… if you're offering…" I said, slowly reaching out my hand. She took it, blushing a little harder.

"Just… prepare yourself. Most people… well, not everyone is used to teleporting on the first few times." she said gently, before her eyes glowed a little bit, and together, the two of us teleported away.

Andr was right, the first few times of teleporting were not very pleasant. At least I knew what it was like, so I could at least try to prepare. Even so, my stomach was doing flips by the time we came to a stop.

It took me a second to regain myself. When I looked up, I was back in the main room, but the girls weren't there. Probably still upstairs doing something. "Well… that was much faster. Thank…" I said, but my gratitude was cut in half when I realized Andr wasn't next to me. She was on the ground, writhing in pain. "A-Andr?!"

I shook her gently, and she replied softly, "Pearl… drained… too… much… energy… need… rest…"

"Susie!" I called out. She came running from downstairs, just like I had assumed. But she came to a stop when she saw what was going on.

"W-what…" she said, stopping when Andr let out a loud cry of pain.

"We… we need to get her to the sickbay!" I said, grabbing her by the legs. Susie grabbed her by the arms, and we hoisted Andr upstairs quickly.

Whatever questions I had would have to be put on hold for now. Our top priority was getting this girl to safety.

What a mess this girl would be causing for us later…

 **And, that all for this chapter! Yeah, I think about 6,000 words works much better. More stuff for you guys to read, that's what I think.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. I hope you all still like how this whole thing is playing out. It's the best thing in the world to be able to type this story out, just so awesome people like you guys and gals and read it and enjoy.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. And if you want to join my survival server, PM me and ask if you can join. Still lot's of spots open. But until next time guys, stay awesome.**


	25. Ender Break and Devil Deals

**Hello there all of you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter to my story! Today, I have a special treat for you guys! As we all know, this is our 25th chapter, which would be worth celebrating in itself. But… I wanted to take it one step further.**

 **So what will make this chapter so special? Well, first, when I upload this, it will be the longest chapter in my story by a LONG shot, so there's that. But when I finish the chapter, we will have passed another achievement. I'll tell you about it at the end.**

 **For now, let's jump right back into the story!**

Chapter 25: Ender Break and Devil Deals

 _Thirty minutes after the last chapter ended…_

I was pacing back and forth in the guest bedroom. Across the hall, a passed out Andr was being assessed by Susie. Snowy was sitting down on the bed next to me, watching me pace back and forth.

"Master… what happened? I thought…" Snowy started.

"I… I don't entirely know. What I do know is that that endergirl has a lot of explaining to do." I said, trying to piece my thoughts together.

"Is… Isn't she… you know… the one endergirl who…" Snowy started delicately.

"...Yes. She is, but she had a reason behind it… I think." I said slowly. "I'll explain it when Susie gets back, okay? Or I'll let Andr explain if she wakes up."

Snowy became silent, probably trying to figure out what was going to happen when Andr woke up.

A good ten minutes passed by, before Susie came back. She looked a little afraid. "Well, I've done all that I could. I've dealt with this kind of situation before, but still… it makes me nervous."

"She'll be okay, yes?" I asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine, but it'll take some time." Susie said. "Now, can you tell us what happened in that cave? Because I want answers."

"Me too." Snowy said, looking right into my eyes.

"I… ugh… alright, I'll try to explain." I said, and with that I started to explain everything that had happened in that cave. Me hearing the crying, going down the different path, finding Andr, forgiving her… I told them everything. Their eyes slowly became wider and wider as time went on.

After five minutes, I had gotten the two up to speed on everything that had happened. "You… you forgave her? Even though she…"

"I told you, she was forced to do that because of her clan. She actually likes humans, but she had to capture me because her clan told her to." I reminded her. "It's not her fault she had to do what she did."

For a good long while, those two stayed rather silent. They seemed to be thinking everything over to themselves.

Then, Snowy spoke up. "Well… as long as she says she won't hurt you… then I'm willing to forgive her."

"Me too. You're the last person I want to get hurt." Susie added, looking me dead in the eyes. That earned them a smile from me.

"Heh. She'd have to try harder to hurt me." I said, wrapping an arm around both of them. They quickly hugged me back. For a while, everything felt alright.

Then Andr let out a loud scream.

"W-what?!" I nearly shouted in surprise. Susie and I quickly ran for the sickbay. Snowy covered her ears and ran downstairs.

When I got there, Andr looked like she was passed out, having a nightmare or something. A really painful one at that. She was tossing and turning all over the place, fear evident on her passed out face.

"Oh Notch…" I said softly. "What do we do?"

"Hold her still! I gotta give her something…" Susie said, moving to one of the medicine cabinets.

Not knowing where to actually hold her down, I ended up simply grabbing Andr's shoulders. It worked at least, she couldn't shake nearly as badly.

Now Susie ran over with some cup or another filled with medicine. "Hold her still… she won't like this."

"I'm… trying…" I managed to get out. Ever try holding down an unconscious person who wants to toss and turn all over the place? It's harder than it sounds. Especially if that someone is an ender.

Nevertheless, Susie held open Andr's mouth and started to pour. She managed to get the cup half empty before Andr really started trying to get away from whatever was going on in her sleep. It took all my strength to hold down this girl.

Finally, the whole cup of medicine was down her throat. Andr's shifting was becoming sluggish, slowing down. And her face wasn't being contorted in fear.

With a gasp, Andr's eyes flew open, and she sat up suddenly. She slowly gasped to herself for a few times, before seeing me and Susie staring at her.

"Wh… wha… what… what is…" Andr said weakly.

"Calm down. You're gonna be fine. You taxed yourself too much." Susie said gently. But Andr wasn't looking at her. Instead she was looking dead at me.

"I… you… they…" she tried to get out, but was too confused to put her thoughts together.

"Calm down Andr." I said softly. "You just had a bad dream. You're okay now."

Slowly, she took a few deep breaths, and then tried to stand up. But when she tried, she almost fell over. I caught her at just the right time, thankfully.

"So… tired…" she got out, after I sat her back down.

"You overworked your enderpearl." Susie explained. "To the point where… if you tried to go any farther, you would've died. You'll be fine, but for now you need rest."

"Rest…" Andr said, before looking right at me. "Y… you…"

"Yeah?" I asked, curious.

"Th… thank… you… for… forgiving… me…" she got out, before she passed out in exhaustion.

For a while, Susie and I simply looked at each other. I was kind of unsure of what to do next.

Fortunately, Susie answered that for me. "Well… now we should give her a little space. Come on, we'll talk in the living room. Snowy should hear this."

After writing Andr a note, in case she woke up soon, the two of us headed downstairs. Snowy wandered out of the downstairs bedroom just as we came down.

"Is… is she…?" she asked, worried. I answered her with a quick nod. "Okay… thank Notch…"

Soon, we were in the living room, talking. "Okay… so, I've dealt with this before, like I said." Susie started off. "And, well… enderpearl mishaps are not very fun, I can say that much."

"Question." I said. "This is the first I've ever heard of a ender, you know, wearing out their enderpearl. Why is that?"

"Well…" Susie said slowly, putting her thoughts together. "Mostly because it's extremely rare. It's a condition called, ah… Ender Break. All endermen can teleport very great lengths without worry. But they all have a limit. The further the distance, the more tired they get. Most can work through it, but for some… well, if the distance was too much, the pearl inside them… breaks."

"Owch." I said, winching. "That can't feel good."

"No, not at all. It's like having an organ, say a kidney, ripped out. Sure, they can live without it, but it's extremely painful and hard to get over. At least with the pearl, it will regenerate after a while. But it will take time. I imagine that while she will be able to travel small distances, like from here to a few block out the door, she won't be able to go much further without… almost certain death." Susie explained.

"Yikes." Snowy said. "So… what does that mean for us?"

"Unfortunately… Andr was her name? Yes, Andr… she'll have to live with us for the time being." Susie said, much to my disbelief.

"She's going to be living her for now?!" I said ludicrously. "I was willing to forgive her, but having her live with us is a bit much!"

"I'm not exactly thrilled either, but we still have to help." Susie said firmly. "Now, the time it takes for the pearl to regen… uncertain. It can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks."

"A couple of WEEKS?!" I said, getting more and more unhappy about this by the minute.

"Only in extreme cases. Since she only teleported from the mine to here, I'd say… at most, a week." Susie said.

"Still… that's way too long! Can't you, you know, speed up the process a bit?" I asked.

"No… there's no way to speed up the regen of an enderpearl. You'll just have to suck it up and deal with it." Susie said, sounding final. I wanted to keep arguing, but I knew already I would get nowhere.

"Ugh…" I sighed to myself, trying to get over myself. Snowy noticed this, and decided to take action.

"Master…" she said, getting my attention. "We can get through this… right? I mean… we'll be by your side the whole time, yes?"

I took a deep breath, regaining my normally calm attitude. "Yeah… I guess it won't be too bad… right?"

"There you go. Now you're thinking positive." Susie said, smiling at me.

'Well… I'll try.' I thought to myself. 'Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be a long week…'

 _An hour later…_

There I was, back in the sickbay. The three of us decided the best way to keep an eye on Andr was to take shifts. Susie had taken the first one, and now it was my turn. On the table near all the medical supplies sat a note, saying how much medicine to give Andr, when, and what type.

There only needed to be one dose taken in a few minutes, so I sat down on a little stool with a book, occasionally glancing over at Andr several times. At least the color had returned to her face by now, and she wasn't looking all panicky anymore.

Suddenly, after ten minutes of sitting down, Andr began coughing a little. That got me a little concerned, as I had just given her the single dose of medicine not even three minutes ago.

But slowly, the coughing stopped. I figured she must not have liked it for a second, so I began getting back into my book. But then, her eyes slowly fluttered open. I didn't notice it, until she started trying to sit up.

"Hey. You're awake." I said, putting the book down. She looked over at me, and… small tears started forming in her eyes.

"Woah, woah, hey… what's wrong?" I asked, kneeling down to get more on her level. After a minute, the tears started slowly rolling down her face.

"I…" she tried to start, but didn't get anything else out before breaking down. She simply sat there, sobbing for a minute, looking… lonely. Slowly, I sat down next to her and held my arms open a little. She gladly accepted the gesture, quietly crying into my chest.

Soon, Andr managed to pull herself together, and pulled out of my arms. "*sniff* I'm… I'm so sorry…"

"For what? You've done nothing wrong." I said, trying to make her better.

"Yes… I have… I made you worry about me… and now… you had to help me get better…"

"Stop that." I said firmly. She looked rather surprised at my sudden words. "No more of that. You've done nothing wrong at all Andr. I promise you that. Calm down."

Slowly, she did start to become more calm. Slowly, I got up, saying, "Hold on. I have to go tell the others."

She watch me get up and start to leave, until a thought came to her. "Wait!" she called out, just after I had one foot out the door. I looked back over at her, to see her looking a little embarrassed. "Umm… sorry but… I don't think I ever got your name…"

"Oh right, sorry. Cameron. Cameron Wallis." I said, before walking out the door and shutting it gently behind me.

 _Yet another hour later…_

Susie had left the room to go check up on Andr an hour before. For now, it was just me and Snowy.

"Umm… Master?" Snowy started, looking a little worried.

"Something wrong Snowy?" I asked, putting down my book.

"It's just… I heard a rumor at some point…" she started, now very embarrassed. "That… some ender people like animals… especially pets, like cats. Do… do you think that…?"

Now that she said that… I actually read that somewhere. How ender people seem to like household pets and such. But… does Andr?

"I… I honestly don't know. I guess we'll just have to see. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Would you care either way?" I said.

"I… I don't know. If she likes cats… maybe she likes dogs… I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Speaking of which, what are those two doing up there?" I said, standing up. "Stay there Snowy, I won't be long."

I climbed up the stairs and headed down the hall toward the sickbay. I could easily hear the two voices of Susie and Andr talking. Sounded like Susie told Andr the news about her having to stay or something, because the two were having an argument.

"Knock knock." I said, knocking on the door. The voices quickly quieted down, and footsteps were heard getting closer to the door.

Susie opened the door, and saw that it was me. "Oh, Cameron, thank Notch you came. I need your help." she said, stepping aside so that I could come in.

Andr once again blushed when I gave her a quick smile, but I simply assumed that she was still embarrassed about being looked at in the face. "You said you need my help?" I asked Susie.

"Yes. See… I have to give her a small shot, and… she's afraid of needles." Susie said. I glanced over at Andr, who nodded in conformation. "So… can you help her stay calm while I do it?"

"Well… I guess I can try." I said, sitting down next to Andr.

"N-no… please… I don't want that shot." Andr said to me, looking pale.

"Relax. I hate needles as well." I said, fixing her attention on me. Susie rolled up Andr's sleeve and quickly put some anesthetic on Andr's right arm. She started shaking a little in fear.

"Calm down… it'll be okay. Just take a few deep breaths with me…" I said. She slowly followed me on my deep breathing. Susie slowly came up to her, the syringe in hand.

"Don't look around." I said, when Andr almost looked away from me to see where Susie was. "I'll tell you when she's about to give the shot, okay?"

"O… okay." she said. At least she was much more relaxed now.

"It'll be perfectly fine." I said, watching Susie in my peripherals. The needle was already in Andr's arm, but… she didn't notice.

"Is… is she doing it yet?" Andr asked, started to get a little nervous.

"No, not yet. She's about to. Don't look away from me." I said, getting her attention back on me. "Just stay still…"

And just like that, Susie pulled the now empty syringe out, bandage at the ready. I couldn't help but smile. "W-what?" Andr said, nervous.

"How do you feel?" I asked, still unable to suppress my silly smile.

"O-okay… I guess…" was her response. Suddenly, when Susie placed the bandage down, that got her attention. "Wait… what?"

"You didn't even feel it, did you?" I said, grinning broadly.

"She… you…" Andr said, unable to piece together her thoughts.

"You… tricked me!" she finally said, the smallest bit upset.

"I didn't trick you at all. I simply kept you calm while Susie gave you that shot. You're welcome." I said.

She couldn't even get mad. My plan was perfect. She had remained calm throughout the whole process, and she didn't even so much as wince.

"Well… at least it's over with…" Andr said, pulling her sleeve back down.

"Now, miss Andr?" Susie said, getting our attention. "As I said before, you will have to stay with us for some time, until your pearl has fully regenerated. This will take at best a day or two, at worst a week. You understand?"

Andr nodded. "Please tell me that there will be no more shots?" she added.

Susie slightly giggled a little. "No no. No more shots. You only needed the one."

Andr sighed in relief. "Thank Notch…"

"Okay, well… I guess that's just about everything we can do in this room for now. Can you stand and walk?" Susie asked. With a little bit of my help, Andr stood up, her legs a little shaky.

"Ye… yeah… I'll be okay." she said, after getting her balance. She needed a little help walking still, but nothing too bad.

"So… what now?" I asked Susie.

"Let's go back downstairs first. I'm starving." she said. I realized how hungry I was as well. So, with Andr leaning a little on me, the three of us walked out and headed downstairs.

When we got to the main, I couldn't see Snowy anywhere. I peeked into the bedroom and the bathroom, but she wasn't there either. 'Where…?' I began thinking, until I saw a small tail poking out from behind one of the chairs in the living room.

"Snowy? What are you doing?" I asked, going around to see Snowy hiding in the chair, away from Andr.

"Umm… hiding." she said softly. Andr looked at me kind of funny, as she must not have heard Snowy.

"Snowy? Who's Snowy?" she asked me.

"Oh right, you haven't met Snowy yet. Well… come on Snowy, say hi." I said, poking Snowy's arm.

Slowly, she crawled out of the chair and stood shyly in front of Andr. "Um… hi…" Snowy said, not looking at Andr's face. Which might have been kind of a good thing, as Andr completely froze when she saw Snowy.

At first, Andr didn't say anything. She simply stared at the wolf girl.

Then came the words.

"You… are… ADORABLE." Andr said, practically running over to Snowy and holding her in a small hug. "Awww… cutey little puppy!"

Snowy looked a little uncomfortable in this new person's grasp, but pretty soon, Andr got on Snowy's good side fairly fast. Mostly because Andr gave her plenty of attention and she basically spoiled Snowy rotten.

"*sigh*... I like this a lot more now…" Snowy said, cuddled right up next to Andr, holding her in a small hug as well.

"O… okay…" I said slowly. "That happened."

Even Susie seemed a little taken back. "Umm…"

"You know what?" I said in a small whisper to Susie. "Let's just… not say anything. Probably better if we don't."

"Y-yeah… probably." Susie agreed. Soon she got behind the counter and started to make dinner for… I guess the four of us now.

Snowy stayed close by Andr the whole time, getting showered with compliments and care. "Snowy, you're a little too trusting for your own good…" I half-whispered after watching those two from my chair for nearly ten minutes.

"Can't… help… it…" Snowy half-whispered back, sounding almost drunk off the attention she was getting. "I… love… attention…"

"Yeah, I know. But you never got like that around me." I reminded her. Snowy couldn't think of an argument for that one, so she went back to getting fussed over by Andr.

"Awww… you're so cute… yes you are, yes you are…" Andr cooed to Snowy. "Such a small, cute little puppy… you're my favorite right now, yes you are…"

And that was only a little bit of what Andr said. There was plenty more, but I really don't want to recall all the pet names Andr called Snowy.

Thankfully, after a few more minutes, Susie called out dinner was almost ready. I quickly realized that if Andr was going to be staying with us, then we would need more than just the counter to get everyone seated. At least there were four chairs at the counter, so we were okay for now. Perhaps we should move the work room upstairs, so that I could possibly make a large table…

Anyway, I sat in the third seat from the left, and Snowy took her place at the far right, finally separated from Andr, at least for now. But Andr… she didn't sit down yet. "Something wrong?" I asked her.

"I… I've…" she started, looking a little nervous. "Well… this is… I've… never been this far away from home… with complete strangers."

'Oh… really?' I thought to myself. 'Well…'

"Hey wait." I said suddenly. "You didn't seem to think about that to much when you were ogling over Snowy earlier."

"Well… she's cute. And small. And adorable. How could I not resist?" Andr defended, earning a small blush from Snowy. "See? She likes it."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Come on Andr. Take a seat." I said.

Slowly, she walked over and took the leftmost seat, I guess so that I wouldn't pay nearly as much attention to her. Works out anyway, at least Susie could still sit next to me.

Pretty soon, a giant amount of food was spread all across the counter. Steak, bread, vegetables, fish… it all looked amazing.

"Damn Susie. Where the hell do you get all this food?" I asked as came around the counter to sit.

"I have my ways." was all she said, with a mischievous smile on her face. I was confused, but I guess I shouldn't worry. Food is food, and we all need it.

We began digging in, slowly making headway through all the perfectly cooked food Susie had made. Even Andr took a second helping of almost everything. Twenty minutes later, all that was left of the food were some bones, which I knew I would later give to Snowy. That was her favorite dessert. Wolves are weird…

Anyway, we began cleaning up the mess. Andr helped a little by wiping down the counter, I took on the role of cleaning the bones and moving all the dishes to the sink, Susie washed and rinsed them, and Snowy dried and put them away. What would've normally taken a good twenty more minutes with just me and Susie was cut down to five minutes with the help of the other two.

"Well, that was delicious as always Susie." I said after we finished cleaning, a small burp escaping me. "Oop… excuse me." I added.

The other three started laughing hard at that. Even Andr was close to busting a gut. "H-hey! Knock it off!" I said, blushing a little.

I quickly dashed to the bedroom to get away from all the laughing. Naturally, after five minutes, Snowy came over to see me. "Master? Are you still in here?"

"Yeah, I'm here." I said, looking up. "Something up?"

"No. I just wanted to see you." she said sweetly, sitting down next to me on the bed and quickly kissing my cheek. "And give you that." she added.

"Heh. Get tired of Andr's coddling already?" I asked.

"No. But… I like it better when you cuddle with me." she said, obviously dropping a hint.

"Then come over here!" I said, pulling her over to me and holding her close to my chest. She was surprised for a second, but quickly relaxed in my arms, sighing in happiness, as my hands ran up and down her back…

Then, an idea came to me. A very… interesting idea. 'Hmm…' I thought to myself.

" _Uh-oh… Cameron's thinking something naughty!"_ Vivianna spoke to me, in a singsong voice.

'Freaking called it. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist looking when I start thinking things like that.' I thought, a little peeved.

Vivianna giggled to herself. " _What if I helped you come up with that, huh?"_

'Wait… what?' I asked, but Vivianna didn't explain. She simply decided to giggle a little more, before I couldn't hear her anymore.

'So… she put that idea in my head?' I thought to myself. 'Well… I wonder what Snowy's reaction will be like…'

Slowly, my hand goes lower down Snowy, close to her tail. She was used to this, so she didn't complain. So I slowly went lower and squeezed… ah, her _other_ cheek.

Snowy became a little more stiff, but she didn't complain. She simply hugged me tighter. Her face was buried in my chest right now, but what I could see was getting red fast.

I continued the gentle squeezing, before going to her other one. I could hear a small moan escape Snowy, though she tried very hard to hide it.

Slowly, her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling her ever closer to me. Then, she decided to have a turn. Her hand ran down my back, until it reached my… business end. Yeah… let's go with that.

 **(Only the classiest of jokes here in this story, am I right? Hope you all have monocles on hand. The class will be real in this story, let me tell you.)**

She has her turn in gently squeezing me, trying her best to hear me moan a little. But she didn't get a reaction out of me with just that. So what does she do?

She plays dirty.

And her left hand gently massages my 'friend'.

"S… Snow…" I start to say, but she quickly manages to shut me up. I can feel myself slowly becoming harder with her gentle touch, even though I had pants on.

Against my will, a soft moan of pleasure escapes me. Snowy gently nodded to herself, and slowly stops fondling me. Her warm brown eyes look up at me… I can't look away. I'm transfixed… I'd do anything for this girl right now.

Naturally, that's when Susie decided to come in, looking for her book.

"Cameron? Have you seen my…" she said, before seeing me and Snowy intertwined in a warm hug. My face is one big blush right now, but Snowy looks… calm.

"Hey Mistress." Snowy said, surprising me. Snowy never had called Susie 'Mistress' to my knowledge. "Just… having some fun with my Master. You looking for something?"

For the count of three, Susie says nothing, but an evil grin slowly builds up on her face. "I was… but now I found something else I want." she replied, locking the door behind her, and then jumping onto the bed with us.

"Wha-..." I said, before Snowy clamps a hand over my mouth. 'Oh fuck… I'm so screwed… Vivianna! Help!' I called in my head.

" _Hmmmmm…"_ Vivianna said slowly. " _I don't know… I think I'd rather watch this for now. This looks like it's gonna get good."_

'Vivianna!' I called out, mad that she would ditch me like that. But I didn't have long to focus on her. Susie and Snowy were both getting closer and closer to my rapidly paling face.

"You managed to hold him down just for me?" Susie asked, her voice once again sultry.

"I didn't realize you were coming. I thought I'd be fun to have some fun with my Master…" Snowy said, now her voice becoming thick with lust. At least it wasn't heat thick.

I tried to get out of there, but forgot that Snowy's legs were firmly wrapped around me. Add in the fact that Susie was right there, and I may have very well been chained to the wall for all I could do.

"Hm hm… so… what should we do?" Snowy asked, looking right into my eyes. I tried to shake free from her clutches, but no dice.

"Hmm…" Susie said, rubbing her chin while looking at me. At that point I simply stopped trying to free myself. These girls… they will not stop until they feel that I've had enough. Which might be a while…

"How about… we start off slowly…" she said, moving her face closer to me. Snowy nodded, and moves her hand at just the right time, so Susie's lips hit mine before I can say anything. For a least two minutes she completely has me calm in her kiss, pulling me closer and closer to her…

Then, just as I was about to forget that I'm trapped, she breaks away, and then Snowy comes into view. "My turn…"

Her small lips gently place themselves onto mine, relaxing me further. The soft feeling of their lips… I feel so happy.

Then, she parts from me. Both of them are smiling warmly at me. "There… that's better." Susie said, lightly wrapping her arms around me.

For a second, it feels like they only want to make me feel happy. And it's working…

And then the evil smile comes back to Susie's face. "And now… a little fun." she said, before pulling me forward. Before I can even react, suddenly my face goes right into her massive cleavage.

"You know you like to stare at them Cameron." Susie mocks, her voice slightly muffled. "Well, now you get to look at them up close and personal."

My panic level was rising rapidly. Against my will, I felt myself slowly getting harder. Thank Notch I still had pants on. But I'm pretty sure they could still see a bulge forming. I tried to escape from this, but Susie and Snowy still had a firm hold on me, so there was no chance of escape.

"My my… Master is still trying to deny that he likes this." Snowy teased, her hands playing with my hair. Of course I liked this, but still… this was all happening a bit too fast for me.

With immense difficulty, I managed to wiggle out of Susie's chest, but getting out of their grasp would be another challenge entirely.

"Aww… he got out. And just when I think he was starting to get used to it." Susie booed, covering my mouth again. That's when she started whispering to Snowy. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

'Vivianna, please! I beg of you! Help me!' I yelled in my mind.

" _Hmmm… I don't know…"_ Vivianna said, still with a singsong tone. " _I could… but it'll be a price."_

'Whatever! Just help me please!' I thought desperately. The looks on Susie and Snowy's faces… something told me they didn't just want to cuddle, if you catch my meaning.

" _Hmmm… you'll do anything?"_ Vivianna said, suddenly sounding interested. " _When you fall asleep and see me, you'll do anything I ask?"_

'Umm… any _one_ thing. And within reason.' I thought. I wasn't completely stupid as to what she might do.

" _Ah ah ah."_ Vivianna said. " _Anything. Any one thing, yes, but anything I ask."_

'Er…' I thought. Do I really want to go through with this deal?

Then suddenly, those two tackled me to my back. "Should we? You think he'll like it?" Snowy asked, her eyes half lidded.

"Whenever you're ready." Susie said, staring at me with her most evil smile. White hot fear ran through me.

'Okay okay! I fold! I'll do any _one_ thing you ask me to do! Please, help!' I gave in, as Susie's free hand slowly traced its way to the bottom of my shirt.

" _I knew you wouldn't resist."_ Vivianna said, her tone pleased. Suddenly, a massive wave of calm flowed through me, filling me with extra strength.

"Grr…" I growled loudly, and without warning, my arms slowly lifted them into the air. The looks on their faces turned instantly to ones of deep surprise.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, ladies." I said, flashing them a smug grin. Quickly, I rolled away, so that they landed safely on the bed.

"Ciao!" I said, running out the door and hiding upstairs in the empty sickbay.

After I took a few deep breaths… I got a little paranoid. I really hoped they weren't mad or anything. I just… got a little uncomfortable and decided to take action. Of course, I knew they'd try again some other time. But… would they hate me, due to the fact that I ditched them like that?

" _Pleasure doing business with you Cameron."_ Vivianna said. " _Look forward to later tonight."_

'Oh, shit… why do I get a bad feeling about that…' I thought. Once again I tried to calm down, taking deep breaths.

"Whew… that was…" I said quietly to myself, not finishing the thought.

I must have stayed there for a good five minutes before I decided to see how those two were. It was partly because I wanted too, yes. But more importantly, the guilt of me just running away… it was eating me alive.

Andr must have been in the guest bedroom, because she wasn't in the living room. But neither were the other two, so that left only one place.

I slowly approached the bedroom door, nervous about what they would say. And… who was to say they wouldn't just pick up right where they left off? They could be evil enough to do that.

For a second, I almost bag the whole idea, but then I reasoned that I would have to speak with them sooner or later. 'Might… might as well make it sooner.' I thought, knocking on the door.

It opened a peek, and I could just barely see Snowy's face looking out. "Master?" she asked.

"Hey… is Susie in there too? Can I come in?" I asked, a weak smile on my face. Snowy glanced over her shoulder, before standing off to the side to let me in.

Susie was sitting on the bed, looking me dead in the eye. Her face… she was neutral now, but… I felt that she would snap at one false move.

"H-hey." I said, cursing myself for stuttering. Susie didn't say anything. Snowy moved over to her, also not saying anything.

"Uh… Ummm…" I said, losing my train of thought.

"Cameron." Susie said, her voice… upset with me.

"Y-yes… Susie?" I said, unable to keep the stutter out of my voice. I couldn't recall the last time she had spoken to me like that… if at all.

She patted the bed in front of her, in a 'sit' gesture. I closed the door behind me and nervously sat down in front of her.

"Why… why did you run?" Susie said, her voice shaking the slightest bit. She was hiding it really well, but… she was upset at me. That I simply… ran from her.

"I… I don't know… I guess…" I said slowly, trying to piece my thoughts together. "I guess… I just was a bit of a coward…"

"But… we've done stuff like that before…" Snowy said, not hiding her sadness nearly as well. "And… you never ran before. Why now?"

"Um…" I started, trying to find in myself why. "I guess… because… I just got a little scared… I mean… sure, you've done stuff like that before. And I didn't run then, sure. But… this time… it felt like you both… were… were trying to force it almost. Like… you wanted to, but you were forcing yourself to go further because you wanted me to be happy. I… I don't know… that's almost what it felt like to me…"

For the longest time, those two watch me as I hung my head in shame. "I'm… I'm sorry. I just… wasn't comfortable that time. It… didn't feel right. I understand… if you're mad at me. I totally deserve it." I said softly.

Gently, a hand came to my face, and cupped my cheek. I looked up, and… Susie. She was looking at me, with… love.

"No… we don't hate you Cameron. We were just… surprised, I guess. And… I guess we should've let you say something, rather than simply force you to stop talking…" Susie said, her tone much softer now. "Hmm… I'm sorry."

"Me too." Snowy said, with small tears in her eyes. "I… I forced you… to not move… and didn't… try to hold myself back as much… I…"

"Shh…" I said, moving closer so I could rub her back a little. She sniffled once or twice, but no tears started flowing, so I guess I calmed her down at the right time. "It's… it's okay Snowy. Nothing worth crying over."

"But…" Snowy continued. "You're… you're my master… aren't I supposed to protect you, not hold you down?"

"Like I said, nothing's wrong. You just… ah, lost a little control for a while. It's fine Snowy…" I said, taking one of her small hands. She looked into my face… and nearly started to break down. Thankfully, she pulled herself into my chest, so she only made soft crying noises. I simply patted her on the back, saying, "Hey… it's okay… it's okay… shhhh…"

Susie went over to my other side, looking… better. "Thank Notch… for a second, I almost thought you didn't love us anymore."

"NEVER say that." I said fiercely, startling even Snowy a little. "I'll never, never in a million years, stop loving either of you. I promise you that."

They were quiet for a second, as my words sank into them. Then, their arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a warm, comforting embrace.

"I… I love you… Cameron." Susie said softly, sighing contentedly.

"Me too… I love you… Master." Snowy said softly, also holding me just as tight.

"And I love both of you… and nothing anyone else says will change my mind." I replied, pulling those two closer to me. We were all so relaxed…

One hour later, the three of us were all in bed again, those two tightly holding onto me. They weren't asleep yet, but I could tell they were close. We all were tired.

"Mmmm…" Snowy sighed, shifting a little. She slowly got closer to me, pressing right up against me.

"Hmm…" Susie sighed, also shifting closer to me as well.

"Man…" I said softly to myself. "How the hell did I get so freaking lucky?"

No answer came to my mind, but whatever the reason really was, I didn't care. All that mattered was that it did happen, and now I have two beautiful and amazing girls by my side. If you count Vivianna in my head, I guess that made three. I slowly closed my eyes, feeling so happy…

Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten my deal with Vivianna. Pretty soon, I was back in the dream world, but now I had an evilly smiling Vivianna in front of me.

"Well well… hello Cameron. I've waited a good long time for this…" she said, slowly approaching. I instantly knew that whatever she had planned for me, it wasn't good. I quickly stood up and started backing up.

"Aww… trying to deny our little deal… how adorable." Vivianna said, picking up her pace. I started backing up faster. For a while, the two of us continued to slowly pick up the pace, until I've turned around, running full sprint.

"Heh… still trying to get away, I see." Vivianna said behind me. I quickly glanced over my shoulder… but all I saw was inky black. I turned back to see her further ahead of me, not moving. Her arms were out, waiting for me to run right into them.

I immediately hit the brakes, and did a 180, now running to other way. No dice, she suddenly got in front of me again. I turned every which way, but she always managed to be almost right in front of me.

And then I screwed up. I was about to turn a new direction… when I realized I was going too fast. Before I could react, I fell to the ground, right in front of Vivianna. She took the first chance she got, and pounced right onto me before I could even try to stand up.

"Got you." she said, once again in her half singsong, half sultry voice. "And once I catch my target…"

She stopped speaking for a second, before continuing in an even more sultry tone. "Well… there's no escape... until I'm happy."

'Oh fuck… I made a deal with the Notch damn devil!' I thought to myself, as Vivianna turns me onto my back, so I could fully see her evil grin.

"And now… you have to do what I say. And it'll be a long… slow… intimate time, I can say that much." she continued, her hand cupping itself on my cheek.

All that I could think at that point was, 'I'm so Notch damn fucked… I know it.'

 **Annnd, gotta end the chapter here! Got ya! The cock-blocker within me has once again awakened! HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Ha ha… ha ha… whoo… oh man, no wonder I get yelled at by a few readers so much. I do this shit way too much… and yet I always do more.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Look forward to the next one! I'm not entirely sure if the next chapter will be a lemon or not… but who knows? It's been a long time since the last one. Maybe I will.**

 **Also, remember way back at the beginning, when I said that there's another milestone we passed with this chapter? Well… kindly turn your attention to the word counter at the top. Yep, you read that right. We have passed 100,000 words! Round of applause everyone! (Insert applause sound effect here)**

 **Thank you! Thank you! You'll all too kind! But in all seriousness, thank you all so much. All the support that you guys have given me, all the comments I have read… it's an amazing feeling. If I never had this much support, we never would have achieved 25 chapters or 100k words. So… I tip my hat to you all. Thank you so much. You all are the best people in the world. Just knowing that some of you love to read my story, and the random crap I come up with… you all are awesome. Give yourself a round of applause, all of you.**

 **You know the drill by now. PM me if you want to play MC with me with your ingame username, what server, and when. And PM me if you want to join my server and hang out with me. I'll always be happy to survive in Minecraft with my fans. With my fans… never something I thought I'd say.**

 **This is ButterHunter, and I will see you in the next chapter. I'll have another special chapter for when we reach 50. But for now, until next time readers, stay awesome.**


	26. Even Spirits Need Love

**What is up all of you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with another brand new chapter!**

 **I'm not gonna waste time today! Let's get right back into it!**

Chapter 26: Even Spirits Need Love

'Oh Notch… I need a way out of this…'

That was my thought as Vivianna slowly played with my hair with one hand. Back in the real world, I had made a promise to Vivianna. In return for helping me, I had to do any one thing she wanted me to do when I fell asleep. Well, here I was, with her practically laying on top of me. I could only imagine how this would play out.

"Hmm… how do I want to spend my time with you, Cameron?" Vivianna asked in a rhetorical way. "Hmm… I'll need a second to think about this. I only get one chance…"

For the next three minutes, she starts considering in options. Her eyes move all over the place, darting left and right, up and down, everywhere. I start getting more and more afraid for myself. For a second, I catch myself wondering if it's possible to lose virginity in a dream.

I squirm uncontrollably. I can't help it, her sizeable chest in pushed right onto me. Not to mention her face is also really close to mine. But she catches that. "Ohh… a bit uncomfy so close to my bust?" she said, scooting herself forward, making her chest almost right in my face.

"But I thought you liked huge breasts…" Vivianna said, almost sounding hurt. "And I thought you'd love to have them all to yourself." Slowly, she pulls herself off me a bit, making her chest hang down loosely in front of my eyes. Thank Notch she had a dress on, otherwise at the angle I was at… there'd be much more I'd be able to see.

Vivianna giggles to herself. "Oh look at you, my sweet sweet Cameron. Blushing so hard from my boobs in your face." she said gently, pulling her bust away from me, getting her face back into my view. I nearly let out a sigh of relief. "Oh well. You are a man after all."

At that comment, I started getting a little angry. "Wha… what's that supposed to mean?" I said, anger trickling into my tone.

"Well, it's obvious." Vivianna said. "Don't you like to stare at big breasts? Most men do."

"S-stop talking like that!" I nearly shouted, blush coming to my face. Even in this place, where no one else in the world could hear, I was still very self-conscious about people saying sensitive info like that. "T-that's… not something you should just admit out loud!"

"But it's the truth. Why deny it?" Vivianna countered. But she didn't wait for my answer. Slowly, a wide smile started building on her. "Hmm… I think I have an idea."

Before I can react, suddenly she repins down my arms and legs, pushing her face close to mine again. "Yes… I think I know what I want to do now. I think you'll like it." she says, her face coming closer and closer to mine.

I closed my eyes, not sure I wanted to see what was about to happen. "Aww… don't want to look, huh? So shy… I love it. It makes me want this even more…"

My eyes are still pressed tightly closed, but I still feel everything around me. I feel her slowly pull me back into a sitting position, and her arms and legs wrap around me, encasing me in a warm hug.

"Open your eyes Cameron." Vivianna said softly. I really didn't want to. I wanted to keep them closed until I woke up. Whatever this whole thing was leading up to, I didn't want to know.

"Come on. Open up." Vivianna said even softer, her breath warming my face. I knew I had no choice but to look.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. Vivianna, as expected, was right there, bear hugging me. The look on her face had changed again. Now it was a more… loving look.

"I want… to be with you all night, and let you do whatever you want." she said, tightening her grip on me. "That's my request."

That one threw me for a loop. I was certain that this was about to start going south. She had me in the perfect position for it, and yet she… basically let me go. 'Wha… what?'

Vivianna giggled. "Awww… so confused and scared… come here." she said, softly kissing me. Slowly, the fear drained away, as did a little confusion. But when she pulled away, she could still very clearly see that I was confused as all hell.

"You honestly thought I would force you to do something like that?" Vivianna asked me. "I'm not stupid Cameron. I realize that you are afraid of that. Well… more specifically, being _forced_ to do that stuff. So… I'll let you decide when you want to do it. And whenever that is… I'll be waiting for you."

For a second, I couldn't say anything. The fact that she wasn't going to force me into that… it made me sigh in relief. "Vi… Vivianna…" I said softly, only to have a finger put to my mouth.

"No no. No words are needed. Just… know that I'm right here Cameron. And… even in dreams, there's someone who loves you." she said, before pulling me close to her again. For the first time since I got here, I finally embrace her back.

I try to pull away after some time had passed. But she doesn't break the hug. She instead keeps me in her hug, still looking into my eyes, which makes me look into hers. Her's are a deep blue, swirling like the ocean, yet just as calm as a lake.

She had all the power of water in her, and yet she decided to tag along with me. Me, a simple boy with a complex past. The only thing remarkable about me was that I seemed as of late to attract all kinds of girls to me, somehow. Any fear that I had before has drained away completely. Now I'm looking at her with only one emotion: love. Deep, pure love.

Another second pass, and I give up trying to resist. I move forward and kiss her, which she is all too happy to return. I made a move, and decided for once I would start making this passionate. Slowly, I open my mouth and move my tongue forward. She accepts it, gently flicking at it with hers. For a good five minutes, my tongue explores everywhere in this space, making her moan in happiness. Then, she takes over.

How? With surprise. Suddenly, I feel myself get pushed backward. I realize that her legs aren't wrapped around me anymore. I'm pulled out of our kiss, only to have her get back on top of me. "My… my turn. I want… you to be happy…" Vivianna makes out. She kisses me, instantly moving her tongue into my mouth. She knows exactly what to do. I'm pretty much paralyzed in her kiss, reduced to moaning in happiness.

We were about to keep going, but I started getting a little uncomfortable on the ground here. It's hard, black, and cold. 'Can we change the scenery before we keep going? I'm getting uncomfy down here.' I thought, speaking in my mind.

'To what?' Vivianna's voice spoke, also not breaking away.

'I'll let you decide. Be creative.' I replied. I could tell she was thinking a lot about this, because her kiss slowed down considerably. The whole time she thought, I could her a soft humming in the back of my head.

'How about…' Vivianna thought. I blinked, and suddenly, now I was back at the house. More specifically, my bedroom, on the bed. I guess I can call it my bedroom now, right? 'Right here. This should be plenty comfy, no?' Vivianna asked.

'I… I guess it can work.' I thought, somewhat nervously. She… she wasn't going to go THAT far, right?

In any case, she quickly took back all control of our kiss. For what felt like ten minutes, all we did was switch back and forth between control of this kiss, moaning loudly into each others mouths.

Finally, after all that, she finally pulls away, with a thin saliva trail following. I'm holding her so close to me, so tight, that she's practically using me as the bed. Slowly, she pulls me up so I can sit back upright, lovingly holding me close the second she can.

I sigh gently in happiness, a ball of tension I that I didn't even know was there slowly melting away. I'm literally the happiest man in the world right now. Nothing could ever ruin this.

"There there…" Vivianna said, running her hand through my hair again. "I'll be right here for you. If you ever need someone to talk to… or just want to forget your worries for a time, I'm always right there for you."

"I… I know." I said softly, hugging her tightly. Her arms hug me loosely, but it still feels just as warm, just as loving…

"So… so warm…" I say sometime later. She still has me in her hug, and she's been slowly tightening her grip bit by bit. "M… more…"

"You want to be nice and warm?" Vivianna asked, smiling at me gently. Slowly, somehow still keeping me in her hug, she gets both of us over to the headboard and wraps us under the covers, both of us laying on our sides. The warmth gets stronger under here, the heat getting trapped under the blanket.

"There… how's that?" she asked, not needed an answer. She already could see it in my face. She would tell me at some other time that I looked blissful. If this wasn't a dream, I'm fairly sure I would've fallen asleep. That being said, even if I really wanted to fall asleep, I wouldn't have been able to. I stayed there for… I don't even know how long. With her hugging me, the warmth warming every part of me… that should've been able to make me fall asleep, but I didn't. Guess I can't fall asleep in dreams or something.

After only Notch knows how long, I could feel Vivianna moving around. Half drunk off of the warmth she was giving off, to my brain at the time it was like she was pulling away for the first time. Instinctively, I tried to pull her back over.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"D… don't… leave… me…" I think I said. My brain had trouble processing everything that really did happen for a time.

"Huh? Where did you get that idea?" she asked. "I was only shifting a little. Water doesn't stay still forever you know."

"O… Oh… I… see…" I said, still very out of it. Vivianna easily saw that.

"Hmm… maybe I let you stay warm for a bit too long." she said. "You need an energy boost."

As she said that, slowly energy filled me, effectively shaking me out of my stupor. "H… Huh? What happened?" I asked, a small bit dizzy.

"Hm hm… I simply willed you to have some more energy. Dream world, remember?" Vivianna reminded me.

"Oh… oh yeah. Almost forgot." I said before an… unpleasant thought came to my mind. "Um… Vivianna? Since this is a dream… are we really experiencing this? I mean… how do I know that this isn't all just something my subconscious cooked up?" I asked delicately.

Vivianna giggled softly. "My my… are you doubting that I'm here right now? This may be just a dream, but I really AM here, holding you closely. Do you not want this to be a dream?"

"I… I don't know." I admitted. "I mean, it would be harder to do this stuff if you were in the real world. But at the same time… making it real would be nice."

"Aww… you're so cute-looking when you get all thoughtful like that." Vivianna cooed. "But in all seriousness, I think… it's better like this. After all, I'm getting to see so much more than I ever thought possible, and I'm helping you while doing it. Besides, what guy gets to say that he has a girlfriend that lives in his head?"

"You… make a very valid point." I said.

"And…" she said, her tone a bit softer. "I get to spend hours with you every night. When you're body rests… I get my turn in giving you love. Nothing wrong with that, yes?"

"Not… not at all." I said, smiling to myself.

"Mmmm… you really love me, don't you Cameron?" Vivianna asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do." I said.

"I know. Just… sorry. No one ever loved me as much as you did before. I talked about this a little before, didn't I? Just… you're the first person to ever really… accept me. You… you care so much about people you love. It's… almost a bit overwhelming." Vivianna said, her voice definitely getting softer.

"Why wouldn't I love you?" I asked, locking my eyes right into hers. "You're smart, funny, powerful… and very cute. You're a good person Vivianna. And I'm always going to treat you like one. Because you deserve it."

She didn't say anything for a good while after that. For a second, I almost considered breaking the hug so I could give her a moment.

Then she spoke. "I… I never realized it… until I met you. I… I… was lonely. No one cared about me. No one loved me. Until you came along, and… I feel happy again. So… thank you Cameron."

"You're welcome. You'll never have to feel loneliness again. Not on my watch." I said, causing her to tear up slightly. I guess even spirits can get lonely after some time. Suddenly, she sits up, taking me with her.

"Mmm… Cameron… I love you." she says, before kissing me once again. Only this time, she's getting very… lewd. And she's being very loud about all this. Thank Notch no one else was around to hear this, or this would have been very awkward to explain. As it was, my face was still getting very red at the way she was going about this kiss.

Suddenly, she stops, and pulls away. I'm about to question why, when I remember that dream me is wearing sleep pants now. Very loose, baggy ones. I never really… thought about what I would wear in my dreams, so I guess my brain simply took what I was wearing when I went to sleep.

Why is that important? Well… I suddenly realized that this kiss… it started turning me on. And my shaft had poked her crotch. For a second, all I can do is blush harder.

Then, a small smile forms on Vivianna's face. "My my Cameron… you love me so much, you're getting turned on?" she teased. My face flushes a bit harder.

"V-Vivianna… um… I…" I started, trying to work my way out of this.

"Shhh…" she said, silencing me. She gently pulls me to her and hugs me again, but this time my face is resting sideways right on her cleavage. "It's okay… don't be shy now."

Despite her calm words, my face is bright red from being so close to her chest. "Vi...Vivianna… you… you're…"

"Shhh… just be quiet now…" she softly cooes to me, rubbing my back gently. "It's okay… if it's you Cameron. Because… love makes you do crazy things, no?"

"I-I-I… I guess… so…" I say, in a much softer tone. For at least three minutes, she keeps me in her chest, slowly relaxing me as she rubs my back. But my shaft is still hard, and it's right under her crotch. Yet she doesn't seem to mind to much.

Vivianna giggles. "Now now Cameron… don't be shy. I said I wanted to be with you and let you do whatever you want, didn't I? You are allowed to do whatever you want." she said, ruffling my hair again.

'A-any… anything?' I thought to myself. She heard my thoughts, but chose not to reply. Instead, she simply hugged me tighter, pulling me even closer into her chest. The small, rational part of my brain was yelling at me to get the fuck out of there, but… the rest told me to test if she was telling the truth.

I decided to listen to the… naughtier part of me, at least for now. I cast my mind, around, thinking of ways to test if she was telling the truth. Slowly, my mind found something. If it would be okay by her was the real question.

Slowly, without moving my face out of her cleavage, I raise my hand and gently place it on her right breast, the one I was looking at. Vivianna doesn't say anything, but I think a very tiny blush started forming in her cheeks. I pause, suddenly unsure if I wanted to go forward with this. I mean…

"Cameron?" Vivianna says, seeing my pause.

"S-sorry…" I said, pulling my hand away. I was certain she only wanted to hug me, and I was going too far.

"No… no, you're fine." she says quickly, grabbing my hand again. Slowly, she puts it right back where it was. Even with her dress on, her breast feels very soft, like a giant pillow. "You can keep going… if you want." she said softly.

Doubt still heavy in my mind, I nevertheless continue to gently feel her breast, amazed at how soft it felt. Guess it was because she was still water after all. Soon, I'm gently groping her, hearing her gently moan.

"N-now… the… other one…" she got out, trying very hard to not moan in the middle of her sentence.

I nod, and she releases me just long enough so that I can turn around. The second I'm situated, her arms come wrapping tightly around me again, pushing my face a bit deeper into her cleavage. I almost can't see out of my left eye, but by now I'm slowly getting used to this.

Once again, I gently place my hand now on her left breast, and slowly feel it, working up slowly to gentle groping. The whole time, I can hear her softly moan in pleasure. She really likes this simulation… it kinda made me want to do more.

"Mm… mmmm… Cam… Cameron…" Vivianna said, straining to keep her moans in check. But… I don't want her to keep those to herself. I want her to moan, and do it loud. So… my attention moves from her chest… to her neck.

Acting quickly, my face leaves her cleavage and goes for her neck. Before she can even wonder what I'm doing, I've placed my lips onto her neck.

She gasped as the new sensation hit her like a train. I gently kiss her neck, occasionally throwing in a small tease, either with my tongue or a small suck. Now she's desperately trying to hide the moans, but they're definitely getting much louder. And a lot more frequent, I might add, which… didn't satisfy me. I wanted to hear her let out her moans, and do it LOUDLY. So I could clearly hear them.

My arms wrap around her body, and I let my fingers slowly dance their way down her back, getting close to the hem of her dress. I can see her face a little better from where my face is at, and now a decent blush of deep blue was coming onto her face.

"Ca… Cam… Cameron… please… keep… keep going…" she gets out, unable to say anything more without releasing all the moans she built up so far. Luckily for her, I really don't feel like stopping. She's done quite a lot for me, so… I'd like to give her a chance to be happy.

Finally, my hands reach the end of her dress. I get my hands under it, and slowly feel my way around. Until I feel something warm. Poking it, Vivianna lets out yet another moan, louder than the others have been. I take my lips away from her neck, a smile forming on my face. "That feel good?" I asked cockly, knowing her anwser already. "Maybe a little more…"

My hands each grab onto one cheek each, feeling how soft they were. Even with her panties on, I managed to get under them, slowly massaging her butt. The sensation, even without me kissing her neck, cause her to moan the loudest since I started doing this.

"Mmmm… feels good, huh?" I say, a smile on my face at seeing her blush so hard. She nodded, not trusting herself enough to speak without moaning. "Well then… maybe a little harder…"

I increase my squeezing, getting super tight one second, to getting very loose. Her moans became a bit louder, and even more frequent. The moans were still turning me on further, and she could feel my shaft under her slowly getting harder and harder. I think that helped in causing her to moan louder.

And then… I give up on just feeling. I want… to actually see her ass. I want to see if it's as plump as the image in my head. "Vivianna?" I said, removing my hands. She doesn't look very pleased that my hands moved away, but at least now she starts speaking.

"Y… Yes, Cameron?" she asked, still panting a little from trying to stay in control.

"May I?" I asked, thinking about what I wanted. Her eyes widen a little, but she nevertheless gets a small smile on her face.

"Of… of course. I'm letting you do whatever you want tonight." she said, releasing me from the hug I forgot I was in. Slowly, she turns around, and lays down on her stomach. Slowly, I move the part of her dress that's covering her butt…

And I finally get a good look at it. It's even plumper than I had thought in my mind. For a second, I simply stare at it. Then, I allow my hands to resume squeezing. But now… I'm getting a bit more into it. Now that I can see, I try squeezing it a bit harder, seeing if it will leave marks. Then I quickly release, feeling the skin all over my fingers. She's moaning again, though her face is now in the bed, muffling the sound considerably.

It's then that I remember… we're on the bed… together. Alone. And to my knowledge, there's still a lot of night left. "Hey, Vivianna. What time is it in the real world?" I ask, curious.

"Uh… Um…" she starts, confused by the random question. "Umm… about… I think your watch says midnight? I'm fairly sure… why?" she asked.

"Hmmm… perfect." I said, being vague on purpose. I slowly stopped my squeezing.

"Why… why is that good?" she asked, wondering what I was thinking. Without warning, I quickly flip her over, and pin down her arms and legs before she can do anything.

"I… I want… to make you happy Vivianna." I admitted. "So… if you want…"

At first, she looked the smallest bit confused, but she quickly understood after a second had passed. If possible, the blush on her face got even deeper, and for the first time ever, I saw something I had never seen in her face before: uncertainty.

"If… if you think this is too fast…" I started, but she quiets me.

"N-no… Cameron… I love you… and if you want to do that… then by all means, I'm ready." she said softly, her hands on my shoulders.

I gently smile, before kissing her once again, though very softly. She returns it, holding me loosely.

I'm not sure exactly when it started. I'm not exactly sure how long it happened. All I know for a fact is… we went for it, and there was no stopping us. All I could hear for some time was loud moaning from both of us, sounds of kissing, and… other noises. I knew that everything we just did would be etched very deeply into my mind.

When we finally did stop, we were panting for breath. I was almost feeling a little lightheaded from everything we had done. Slowly, we both agreed without speaking to get under the covers, to hide our bodies. I was still blushing hard from everything that had happened.

Slowly, Vivianna's hand reaches out. It touches my face, lovingly keeping itself there. "Cam… Cameron… that… was…" Vivianna pants out. But I quiet her quickly, pulling her into a hug. I don't want us to talk for a while. I only want us to relax together. After all that… we needed it.

 **(I'm just gonna let you decide what those two did. If you can't pick up on my subtle hints… there's no hope for you.)**

We laid there for the longest time, not caring about anything other than the sounds of our hearts, beating together in perfect unison.

"Hey… Vivianna. What time is it?" I asked much later on, thinking that it must be getting close to morning in the real world.

"H… Hmm? Oh… the time… hold on." she said slowly, without opening her eyes. "Umm… I think it says… 4:30 am."

"It's… only four thirty in the morning? How is that possible? It feels like we've been here for a day…" I said.

"Mmmm… time moves differently in the dream world. Don't question it. The longer you stay here…" Vivianna said softly, before her arms wrap around my neck. "...the longer I get to have you."

And just like that, she softly kisses me again, her tongue invading my mouth once more. She rolls on top of me slowly, gaining full control of the kiss again. But I didn't mind. If this is what made her happy, then I'd let her do it every night.

She only stopped once or twice, so we could get our garments back on. But once they were, she showed no mercy. Her tongue once again knew exactly where to go in order to make me moan best. There was nothing I could do to hold them back.

 _Some time later…_

Vivianna stopped kissing me after some time had passed. She pulled me back up to a sitting position and only had one request. That we hold each other for a little while. I agreed wholeheartedly.

So for a long time, the two of us only hugged each other. I was basking gratefully in her warmth, trying to get closer and closer with each passing second…

"Hmmm… Cameron?" Vivianna said.

"Yes?" I said, pulling myself out of my mini stupor.

"Do… do you like when you come here more than the real world?" she asked me slowly.

I didn't know how to answer that one. Both worlds were pretty good… what with Susie and Snowy in the real one, and with Vivianna in the dream one. But… I think I can't just pick one or the other.

"I like both places just as much." I said slowly, tightening my grip a little. "Because I get to see people I love in both. Nothing can ever beat that."

Vivianna stares lovingly into my eyes. She knows very clearly that I'm telling the truth.

"Oh, Cameron…" she said, suddenly hugging me tightly. She pulls me forward, my face right into her cleavage. My face burns red, but I accept it this time.

"I love you Cameron." she says lovingly, keeping my face in her chest while she rubs my back.

'And I love you too, Vivianna.' I thought, not being able to speak right now. But I don't care. I only care about this moment, with just us there…

And then…

Something happened.

I pulled my face up to look gently into her eyes…

And then the scenery changed.

In a second, now I was in the middle of a dry desert. Vivianna was still right next to me, but she also saw the change of scenery.

"Huh? I didn't change this place to a desert…" she said, confused. She let me go so I could stand up and look around better.

"Where… where are we?" I asked.

But before she could say something, suddenly I heard something.

Shifting.

"Vivianna?" I said, turning. Her eyes told me something wasn't right. I helped her stand up. "You hear that too, right?"

She nodded. The shifting sound was growing louder. I was trying to find it…

And my head exploded in pain. "AGH!" I said, dropping to my side. "My head!"

"C-Cameron!" Vivianna said, shaking me. But the pain didn't stop. It only continued to pulse through my head, not stopping…

And the shifting was reaching its loudest yet.

I was trying to change the dream, but I couldn't for some reason. 'O… Obey… you stu… pid brain!' I thought through the pain.

Then, I saw it.

A massive cloud of dust and wind, heading straight for us.

I was paralyzed. The pain forced it. I couldn't move even though I wanted to.

Vivianna was tugging at my arm, trying to get me up, to no avail.

And in the center of the rapidly approaching storm…

A small figure stood. I could only see an outline through the dust.

It seemed to be laughing. At me.

Vivianna knew that she wouldn't get me up. So… she gets on the ground with my kneeling form.

And hugs me tightly. But I can't hear what she says as the massive wind storm envelops us both...

…

"...n...n…"

"...am...on…"

"N...no…"

"Cam...ron… wa...up…"

"N-no… stop…"

"Cameron… wake up!"

"N-no… wha-?"

Slowly, I open my eyes. Sitting right there in front of me was Susie. I was back in the real world. It took my brain a second to process that all that… was just some weird dream. I sighed in relief. 'V-Vivianna?' I asked in my mind.

" _H-huh? Wha-what happened?"_ she spoke, sounding scared.

'I don't know… but it's over. Maybe it was just some sort of weird-ass nightmare.' I said in my head.

Susie coughed. I shook my head again and looked back at her.

"C-Cameron… are you okay?" she asked, placing her hand on my chest, leaning over me.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just… a weird nightmare. A new one." I admitted. I really didn't want to have to keep this a secret. She'd find out anyway.

"A… a nightmare? But I thought… Vivianna…" Susie said slowly.

"I don't know… it was really weird. But it's over now. Was… was I tossing and turning again?" I asked.

She nodded her head slowly. "Y-yes… Snowy just left the room to use the bathroom. I was about to wake you up peacefully when you started to shake in fear. Your face was pale… what was it about?"

"I…" I started, getting my facts together. "Um… it was… me, standing in a desert… and all of the sudden, I felt an explosion of pain in my head. I feel to my knees, and… then a massive dust storm appeared. It approached me quickly. I tried to move, but… the pain… and just before the dream cut off… I could almost see a small figure standing in the middle of the storm… laughing."

Susie's face was getting more and more confused as I finished my recap. "A… a dust storm? And… a small figure was in it? Laughing? Maybe it WAS a really weird nightmare…" she said to herself.

"N-no… that… can't have just been some random nightmare." I said suddenly, catching Susie off guard. "I… I don't have random dreams. They all have a reason for happening. Maybe… maybe I was seeing something. Like… something going to happen in the future."

For a second, I looked out the window… and I thought I saw someone. A tall man, looking right into the window. Then I blinked and it disappeared. I thought it was nothing.

 _Third person POV…_

"HA! It worked!"

The man who had poisoned Cameron… he was back. He had been furious to learn that Cameron had somehow made it out of his incurable potion. But now, his plan would NOT fail.

"Oh yes…" the man said watching Cameron from a safe distance. "You had a vision all right. Of the one who is going to kill you! And I know just how to do it… it'll take me a few days, but getting rid of this bitch will be well worth the effort."

The man slowly turned away. "After all… he is my… no, our, biggest target. The Four Controllers will be victorious. All we must do is get rid of this one. Pity that I have to do it all. One is stuck in that dark land… the other is too weak to do anything, and I can't summon him. As for the third… well, he'd better hope he doesn't met her. So that leaves me."

The man leaned against a tree. "Yes… but it makes sense. The one man who can end the life of anyone will make this bitch die… one way or another. I'd PREFER to not straight up kill him for this one. Much better to not let the others know who killed him."

"But…" the man said, turning back to the house. "I will not stand for this if he keeps worming his way out of my traps. Or… should the other members fall."

The man took out of his bag… something. It looked like… a fourth of a broken, pixelated heart. "This will always be with me… and no one will take it away. Those that try, well… it's not a pretty sight, is it?"

Laughing maniacally to himself, the man tucked the heart away, and proceed to make a wide berth around the house.

And started making his way to where Blockington was.

 **And that's that! Man, I didn't think I could make a chapter that pretty much only takes place in Cameron's head. But hey, we learn something new every day, eh?**

 **So, just as an FYI, I'll probably be focusing more on my Nep story for a while. That one only has six chapters when this chapter goes up, whereas this one will have… well, 26 now. You see where I'm going with this? Don't worry, this story is still FAR from dead. You'll see just how much I have planned for it very soon…**

 **Also, by now we all should know who that man was. But… see if you can figure out what he meant by the Four Controllers. Two of them should be easy, but the third… you'll see.**

 **You all should know the drill by now. If you want to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server and when. Don't forget about my own personal server as well! As always my diligent readers, stay awesome.**


	27. Andr's Past and Windy Weather

**What is up all of you awesomely dedicated readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter to my story! When we last left off, Cameron and Vivianna just had some… fun time. Yeah, that's what we'll go with. But suddenly, at the end of the dream, Cameron had a vision. A vision influenced by the man who had poisoned Cameron before.**

 **So, let's jump right back in!**

Chapter 27: Andr's Past and Windy Weather

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Two days later…_

That weird vision was still in my mind. Not to mention Vivianna's. The two of us had been trying to figure out what it had meant, but no ideas came to mind. Maybe it was really nothing, like Susie said?

No… that had to mean something. I don't come up with stuff like that. I also don't dream about pain. I mean, there's been pain before in my dreams, but never, you know, PHYSICAL pain.

Anyway, me and Susie both agreed to not tell Snowy. The last thing we needed was to make her feel sad about me again. We also remembered to not tell Andr. Honestly, I almost had forgotten that she was here.

In any case, after I woke up two days later, Susie and I walked to the main room to see Andr once again coddling Snowy. But when Snowy heard the door open, she wormed out of Andr's grasp somehow and tackled me to the ground.

"Good morning Master!" she said happily. I could almost see the hearts coming from her.

"Ow… morning Snowy." I got out. Thankfully, with a little help from Susie, I managed to get to a sitting position, with Snowy cuddling my face off.

"Sorry about tackling you Master…" Snowy said eventually, her ears drooping the smallest bit.

I couldn't even stay mad. "Aww… it's fine Snowy. Just… try to control yourself, okay?" I said gently.

Her face lit up again, and she actually did let me get up off the floor. Susie was simply smiling to herself, moving around the counter to start making breakfast. Andr looked at me a little awkwardly as she said, "Umm… g-good morning…"

"Morning." I said. She blushed at getting addressed like a friend. But by now, I already knew almost anything would make her blush.

After twenty minutes passed, where breakfast was quickly eaten and cleaned up, I wanted to think about that vision I had. I wandered back into the bedroom, mostly for some quiet.

But of course, Snowy felt the urge to be near me again, so she quickly found me in there, thinking to myself.

"Master?" she said, knocking on the door.

"Hm? Oh, yes Snowy?" I said, tucking the paper I had been writing on into my bag.

Slowly, she wandered over to me. "I missed you…" she said lovingly, staring me in the eyes.

"It hasn't been ten minutes since we last saw each other." I reminded her.

"In dog years that's a few hours at least." Snowy countered back, laying down on the bed right in front of me. I was able to take a hint.

Gently I rubbed my hands all over her back. I could hear her softly moan as the tension slowly but surely melted away. She had quite a bit of knots in her back.

"Shhh… just relax…" I said softly. I slowly work my way down her lower back. "I know it feels good… shhh…"

Finally, I remove my hands a good five minutes after I started. She looks sad when I stop, but instantly perks up again when I pat my lap. She crawls onto it, her eyes BEGGING for a compliment.

"Did it feel good, or do you want a little more?" I said softly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Only if I can do this while you do it." she said, wrapping her arms around my neck, staring into my eyes. Two seconds pass and she kisses me, pushing me onto my back. My hands once again rub her back all over, making her moan in our little kiss.

"Puppy? Where are you Puppy?" a voice calls out from the living room. Andr. Snowy pulls away for a second to glance at the door.

She looks back at me, as if trying to decide who she wants to be with more. Then she shakes her head, and gives me a nervous smile. "Eh heh heh… sorry Master. Won't happen again." she said, before resuming our kiss.

Naturally, that's when Andr decided to teleport in here.

I forgot that Susie had said Andr wouldn't be able to teleport LARGE distances. A teleport through a one block thick wall would be nothing.

Unfortunately, I didn't remember that until I heard a gasp come from the door. "P-P-Puppy?"

'Oh shit.' I'm pretty sure me and Snowy both thought that at the same time. Slowly, she breaks away to look behind her, blushing. I sit up, seeing Andr's face blushing deep purple.

"Umm… A-Andr, it's not what you think…" I start, but quickly realize that there's no way I'll be able to smooth talk my way out of this one. She already saw us kissing. I'm pretty sure if she hadn't come in here when she did, Snowy and I would have been making out.

"P-Puppy… y-you were…" Andr started, the blush fully on her face.

"Y-yes, I was, but… I-I love my Master… i-is that so wrong?" Snowy says, actually grabbing my arm and snuggling up next to me.

The room was dead quiet for a few seconds. I really wished that I had the ability to teleport right now. So I could get out of this mess.

Thankfully, Snowy and I got the second best thing that could've happened. Susie called out for us. "Cameron! Snowy! I need you!"

I honestly don't think either me or Snowy got out of a room as fast as we did then. We ran right by Andr, blushing very hard. She watched us the entire time, her eyes still wide in shock.

"*pant* *pant*... well then…" I said through my panting when we were upstairs, hiding in Snowy's room.

"*pant* Oh man… that was… so embarrassing…" Snowy agreed, panting as well.

"Come on… let's go find our savior." I said slowly, opening the door. Snowy quickly followed after me, her face still holding a little bit of blush.

We soon found Susie in the sickbay, crushing some herbs or something. "Hey you two-... wait, what happened?" she asked, when she saw the small bit of blush still in our cheeks.

Snowy and I quickly explained what had happened downstairs when Andr barged in on us. Susie looked the smallest bit worried. "Oh dear… now she knows…"

"W-well… it could have been worse." I commented. "She could've seen the three of us together doing that. That would've been much worse."

"True…" Snowy said softly, tightly grabbing my arm like a toy. "But… what will she think of… me? Me and you, Master?"

"I… I don't know." I admitted. "Let's just hope for the best and see how things go on from there."

Snowy and Susie didn't seem to like my plan, but at the moment it was the best I could do. "Anyway, you said you needed us Susie?" I asked.

"Oh, um…" she said, looking embarrassed. "Actually… I forgot, I just needed Snowy. Sorry Cameron."

"Ah, it's fine. At least you got me out of that jam earlier." I said casually. "Hopefully Andr is out of the bedroom by now…"

I left the room, hoping that Andr wouldn't see me along the way. But of course, when I went downstairs I saw her in the living room, watching the fire crackle. I tried to sneak into the bedroom, but she must have heard me easily, because her head suddenly jerked to me.

I started to become a bit afraid. Even if she couldn't teleport very far, that didn't mean she was probably any less strong. Endermen have a much stronger bone structure than humans, which comes in handy when they want to punch one.

"Umm…" I said awkwardly, slowly sidestepping to my bedroom door. She only watched me for now.

"I… I'm gonna just…" I continued, finally slipping into the door and closing it. Once I was in, I let out a huge sigh of relief. 'Made it… now I can think clearly…' I thought to myself.

But when I turned around, guess who was sitting on the bed? Andr. Somehow I hadn't heard the teleporting noise, and now she was here with me. She was looking right at me, directly into my eyes.

"Uh… h-hi." I said even more awkwardly. I tried to say more, but her eyes… they were practically hypnotising me. I couldn't look away from her swirling eyes. Maybe if I looked into them long enough… I could find something.

But before I could try, she cleared her throat gently. I snapped out of my trance, refocusing on Andr. "Y-yes Andr?"

"How long?" she asked in a somewhat commanding way.

"S-sorry, come again?" I asked.

"You and Puppy. How. Long." she asked again, her tone a bit sharper.

"O-oh… ah…" I realized. She was asking me how long Snowy and I have been together. "W-well… it's been a couple of weeks now I'd say. And her name is Snowy, not Puppy."

"I don't care. Why did… why did she… why?" Andr said. Was it just me or… is there something here I was missing?

"Well… she was the one who started it, kinda." I said. "She… she said she loves me, and not just because I'm her… master. Still getting used to that. All I did was be kind and nice to her, give her respect."

"B-but…" Andr said, her face becoming purple again. "But… I wanted to be her lo…"

She slams the brakes and covers her mouth in fear. But I still heard that.

She let something slip.

" _But… I wanted to be her lo…"_

Did she… want to be Snowy's...

"Y-y-you… you like Snowy?" I asked, my voice shaking a little.

"N-no! Nononononononono! That's not what I…" Andr starts, her face a deep purple now. "I… not entirely… she…"

"Andr." I said firmly. "Stop lying. Just tell me the truth."

Andr didn't respond for a good long time. Finally, she stopped looking for a way out and sighed. "Y… yes."

"Since when did you start liking her?" I asked in a calm way.

"Uh… um… a-about… a little while ago… I was… about to talk with her about it… when I saw you with her." she replied. "B-but now… I don't think…"

I sighed. Clearly Andr was a very complex person. This was getting awkward to talk about.

"I think you should talk this over with Snowy instead of me. Then decide for yourself." I said, turning to make my leave.

"W-wait! Don't go!" Andr called out. I turned around to see her scared face. "I… I want company… just for a little longer…" she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"O-okay…" I said, releasing the door knob and walking back over to her. With much hesitation, I sat down next to her, about another person's worth between us. "Why… do you want company? I thought… you didn't like all the attention."

"Be… because… maybe it has to do with the fact that even if… you're human, you're a kind… caring, forgiving one. I… I was always told humans are reckless wastes… they shouldn't be trusted." she said slowly, wringing her hands. "B-but… you don't fit that mold at all. You're… the most interesting human I've ever seen. Well… the only one, but still."

"Andr…" I said gently.

"I… I was always the shame of my clan. Being a half human monster… it's a great shame to my name. I'm… always the outcast. Everywhere I went, I faced mockery and scorn. All because of my mother…"

"Wait… your mom was a human?" I asked suddenly. This was new. I… never really gave it much thought, but now… how did Snowy and Susie looking like actual humans instead of the blocky forms? Did… did they have a human parent as well?

"Y-yes…" Andr got out, tears starting to form in her eyes. "It… it is a great shame for endermen to like… a human. But… my father couldn't resist. He broke her out of her prison… and then fled with her. They spent a long time running far, far away, until they made a small little cottage in the wild. But… they thought they were safe. They traveled so far away…"

I found myself baited on every word Andr was saying. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I-if… if you don't want to keep talking about it… it's fine, Andr…" I said softly.

"N-no…" she said slowly, sniffling once before she continued. "A-anyway… it was the day I was born… I'm sure my dad would've said it was one of the best days of his life… but just afterwards… they found the house."

"A-and… they k-killed my mother… and b-burned my f-father with water… I-I never got to know them…" she said, before the floodgates opened. Tears flowed slowly down her face as she sobbed into her hands.

"H-hey… calm down…" I said softly, scooting over to her and patting her arm gently. She responded by suddenly grabbing me and pulling me into a tight hug, still sobbing.

After a second of hesitation, I hugged her back, gently patting her back. "Shhhh… calm down Andr… shhhh…"

It took a good five minutes before she released me, tear tracks still on her face. She sniffled again for a moment, before she started talking again. "*sniff*... I-I'm sorry… I needed to cry… sorry for doing that out of the blue…"

"No no no, it's fine Andr." I replied softly, patting her arm gently. "I understand. I'm surprised that you haven't cried more to be honest. That's… something that would traumatize anyone."

Andr looked right at me, and… I guess she saw that I wasn't lying. "You… you understand?" she asked me, wiping away a stray tear.

"Of course…" I said softly. "I know what you're going through. Almost perfectly…"

Too late, I tried to shut my mouth. But she still heard me anyway. "You… you do? You… lost your parents?"

"In… in a different way… but yeah, I did." I said, trying to make my voice deeper, to say in an undertone, 'I don't want to talk about it right now.'

But she didn't give up on that. "H-how… how did you lose them? If… if you tell me…"

"You really want to know?" I said, in a 'I'm not messing around here' tone. She nodded, though slowly.

"Fine." I said, grabbing my bag once more.

 _Another twenty minutes of backstory we've already heard before…_

I'm not entirely sure what I had expected from Andr. Perhaps I didn't think she'd have a big reaction or something.

What did happen, was that she looked utterly shocked and scared. In fact, she was even shaking a little once I finished my story. "H-h-how… you c-carried that story with you for s-six years? A-and… you stayed strong the w-whole time…"

"It… it wasn't easy, by no means." I said, my voice cracking the smallest bit. I had found earlier that it was slowly getting more and more easier to talk about my past. When I first told Susie, I completely broke down and couldn't do much about it. Now… I was able to control myself a lot better.

"T-that… that has to be… m-much worse than my past…" Andr said, looking like she wanted to give me a hug.

"A-Andr… this wasn't about whose past was worse…" I said quickly. "I only told you because you asked."

"S-still…" Andr said, scooting just the smallest bit closer to me. "H-how… how have you not just… b-broken down… in fear, like I did…" she asked.

"Because… I knew how to be strong." I replied, straightening my shoulders a little. "I knew… that my parents wouldn't want me to cry. They would want me to move on. It… it was tough… but I quickly learned that I needed to turn my fear and anger… into something else. Strength. Energy."

I gently took one of her small hands and looked her straight in the eye. "And most importantly… save those traits… for the ones who matter most. The dead, Notch bless them, are gone. There's nothing we can do to reverse it. What we can do… is instead of worrying about the ones that are gone… worry about the ones that are still here. The ones that are the most important."

I looked away from her, and thought about Susie and Snowy. "And in my case… the ones who we love the most."

I guess Andr couldn't hold herself back anymore, because her arms quickly wrapped around me into a tight, warm hug. I embraced her back, eyes closed.

"C-Cameron… that was beautiful…" Andr said in our hug. "Are… are you sure you're not Notch in disguise?"

"No way. Not in a long shot." I said, though I couldn't help but hold her a little closer when she said that.

For at least five minutes, we simply held each other in a relaxing embrace. Andr had to have been blushing pretty hard from all this, but since I was also blushing a little, I couldn't really tease her about it.

"Man…" I said softly once I pulled away. "How did this go from a conversation about you and Snowy to our pasts?"

Andr blushed a little deeper at that, remembering what this whole conversation started with. I was about to start teasing her about it…

When something clicked in the back of my mind. Something about Andr's parents.

" _It… it is a great shame for an enderman to like… a human."_

Oh no.

Oh Notch no.

My sister.

End.

They…

They could be next if someone else finds out.

"Oh shit…" I said, quickly standing up, my face paling at the thought of losing my sister.

No. I already thought I lost her once. I'm NOT letting that happen again. Never.

"Cameron?" Andr called out, waving a hand in my face.

"I… I need to go." I said quickly, running out of the room, leaving a confused Andr behind.

"SUSIE! I'M GOING OUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE!" I shouted upstairs, before grabbing some food from behind the counter and sprinting out the door.

 _Andr POV…_

Cameron… he just ran out from the room. But the look on his face… it was almost milk white.

I heard him shout to Susie about 'going out' somewhere, before hearing the front door open and close quickly. A few seconds of silence passed before I gathered my wits again.

I teleported just outside the door, to see him already halfway up a hill. "C-Cameron!" I yelled out.

He didn't hear me. He only kept running to… Notch knows where, his back disappearing behind the hill. 'Why… why is he going that way?'

I teleported back inside, confused. Just after I did, Susie and Pup- err, Snowy, came downstairs.

"Did… did Master yell something?" Snowy asked.

"Umm… he said something out heading out for a while." I said slowly. That was something neither of those two liked. They ran around me and out the door.

"Where?" Susie asked, concerned.

"Uh, I don't really know…" I admitted. "I only saw him heading in 'that' direction." I pointed to where he had disappeared.

"Why… wait, that's the direction of that city… Blockington I think it was called. His sister lives there…" Snowy recounted.

"What happened?" Susie asked me.

"Well… it's kinda a long story. Can you two come back inside so I don't have to get on my knees over here?"

 _After thirty minutes of explaining later…_

Those two looked taken back. "So… after you two spilled each other's pasts, he fled?" Susie summarized.

"Y-yeah…" I said quickly. "And… I don't know what's so important other than his sister over there…"

"Hmm… sis… sister…" Snowy was saying softly to herself. Then suddenly, HER face paled. "W-wait… didn't his sister say… she was dating…"

Now Susie's face paled as the pieces put themselves together in her mind. "Oh dear…"

"What? What?!" I said, getting slightly exasperated that these two were being so vague.

"Ummm… A-Andr?" Susie asked, her voice shaking. "Y-you… you wouldn't happen to know… a enderman by the name of End, would you?"

I blinked once, before responding:

"You mean my brother?"

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Cameron POV..._

"Come on, come on…"

Somehow I had made it back to the city, and found Paige's apartment once again. I knocked on it like a madman, muttering under my breath.

No answer. She must be out.

"Shit!" I said under my breath again. "Fuck!"

I took some deep breaths for a second. 'Okay… so, where could she be?'

Ignoring the worst case scenarios for now, I cast my mind around, trying to think. 'Maybe… she's working. Yeah… she said she works to pay for the room. But… she never said what she did for a living.'

"Argh!" I said, almost punching my sister's door in anger. Then, a thought came to my fevered brain. 'Gowen…'

I ran back out, past all the other pedestrians walking around. It was midday almost, but I was hoping that Gowen's shop was deserted right now.

Thankfully, when I finally remembered where it was, there was no one inside other than that same cashier guy from way back when. Thanks to Vivianna, I was able to calm down enough to look calm and collected.

I stepped inside. The cashier… Jerry, I think his name was? Jerry greeted me. "Ah hello, how can… oh wait, it's you! Cameron, right?"

"Y-yeah." I said quickly. "Listen, can I speak to Gowen? It's urgent."

Jerry when into the back and quickly returned. "Yeah, he's in the back. Go right ahead."

I practically ran down the hall and knocked on the door.

But instead of hearing a 'Come in' or something, the door opened up. Standing in the doorway was that catgirl… Blake. When she saw my expression, she instantly knew something was up. "Zach… your friend is here." she called out, stepping to the side to let me in.

"Bring him over here!" Zach's voice rang out at the far end of the work station, followed by a repeated banging. Blake lead me over to the back, where Gowen was pounding away at what looked like a brand new sword. Banging on it a few more times for good measure, he stepped back, wiped his brow, and turned around.

"Hey bro, what's…" he started, but stopped when he saw my face. "Whoa… what happened? You look like someone just died."

"Blunt as always…" I said under my breath, before speaking normally. "Listen Gowen. I've got a problem. It's about my sister."

"Ugh… you know I don't like talking about your sister. She's a pain in the ass." he replied, walking away with his new sword. I followed after him, with Blake sort of trailing behind the both of us.

"Dude! She's still my sister! And this is an emergency!" I almost yelled out, but I regained my cool at the last second.

Zach sighed exasperatedly. He put the new sword down on a nearby table and turned around, leaning against it. "Fine. What's so important about your sister?"

"Well first, if possible, do you know where she works?" I asked quickly.

"I said that I never even knew she was in this city until the day you came here a week or two ago. Didn't I?" he reminded me.

"Shit…" I muttered. "Uhh, well… is there like, a place I can go to find where she works?"

"Possibly city hall, though I'm not entirely sure about that. They may have moved it around the city." he responded. "Look, can you not tell me what the deal is? I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into here."

"Sorry man, but I really don't want to say. It's a personal issue between me and her. All I need to know is where she would be at this present moment."

Zach didn't look very happy about that, but he could still see that this was something important. "*sigh* Fine. Come on, I'll take you to city hall. I know way more about this city than you, no offense. Blake, you coming?"

"I'll stay behind for now. I'm tired." Blake replied, yawning to prove her point.

"Alright. I'll be right back." he said, grabbing me by the shoulder.

We both headed to the front of the store, where Jerry was looking bored behind the counter. "Jerry? I'm heading out with my friend for a while. I should be back soon." Zach said quickly. Jerry nodded, before continuing to looking at his book.

I tried to open the door, but… it was jammed or something. "Eh?"

I tried again, pushing a little harder. Still the door held. It wasn't locked, but there was no one holding it closed. In fact… the street was practically deserted.

"Uhh… what?" I said to Zach, who looked confused as well.

"Come on. Push with me." he said. Together, we pushed as hard as we could…

And the door slowly creaked open. And the reason it was closed was revealed.

A massive amount of wind hit our faces, almost blasting us backwards.

"The fuck?" Zach said as he stepped outside. I followed behind quickly. "I didn't think it'd be windy today…"

We started to walk against the wind, but further we got, the harder the wind seemed to blow. "WHAT IS GOING ON?!" he shouted over the windstorm.

I took another step forward… and fell over. The wind suddenly was blowing the opposite direction, towards the other row of shops.

"THIS… THIS ISN'T NORMAL!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "IT'S LIKE THE WIND IS TRYING TO KEEP ALL THE DOORS IN THE CITY CLOSED OR SOMETHING!"

As fast as we could, we somehow made our way to the front gates, trying to find some way to get out of the storm. But the second we stepped out of the gates…

The wind had stopped.

"Huh?" I said, confused. I turned around to head back in, but the wind was still blowing it's ass off in the city. "That's not natural…" I said slowly.

"That's… weird. Not much wind really blows from the desert up there…" Zach commented off-handedly. He continued speaking, but...

Wait.

Desert.

Wind storm.

The pieced slammed together in my mind so fast, I almost fell over again. 'V-Vivianna… the vision.'

" _N-no… that can't be… then we can't go there!"_ she thought quickly. " _That vision showed you suffering! We can't let you go there!"_

'But… if I do go there... we could possibly find out what that vision was about. I mean, you've been just as curious about it as I have, no?' I thought.

" _Well… that is true… but the desert? That's a waterless death trap. I'd be very restricted in how I could help you if things go south."_

'Still… worth a shot.' I thought, before speaking again. "Gowen?"

"Eh?"

"Go back to your shop. I've got something I need to see."

 _Ten minutes later…_

It had taken a good five minutes just to get Gowen to go back to his shop. The only reason he did was because I insisted that this had to be done by myself, but still… he tried to come along with me.

And now… here I was.

At the edge of the desert. The wind was howling around me, whiping around me, but I still held firm.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. As I expected, no one answered. So that meant… I had to go in.

'Well… here goes nothing.' I told Vivianna.

" _Please tell me you have water on you. Unlike last time, there's no Susie to save you if you get dehydrated."_ Vivianna pleaded.

'Of course I do.' I told her, pulling out three bottles of cool, fresh water. 'There's at least two or three more as well.' I added after I put two of them back to drain half of the first one.

" _Well… as long as you think you can manage…"_

'Of course I can. I'm prepared this time.' I told her, taking my first step into the desert.

And the sand in front of me exploded.

More accurately, the wind caused a giant wall of sand to rise in front of me.

Then, out of nowhere, a gust of wind blew in from behind me, pushing me into a miniature tornado that had also formed right in front of the sand wall.

And now I was being carried swiftly off to Notch knows where.

'...except for sentient wind. That I was not aware of.'

In no time at all, now I was pretty far into the desert. A massive tornado was building, taking large amounts of sand. And I was heading right for it.

"Oh no…" I said, as I quickly covered my eyes right as I entered. The sand hit me from all sides, but thankfully none got into my eyes. Some did get into my pants though.

In a few more seconds, I was inside the heart of the tornado. As soon as I was in the eye of the storm, the mini tornado I was trapped in dissipated. I dropped to my knees, coughing a little bit as sand had somehow gotten into my mouth.

"Ahem…" a voice said in front of me. Like, DIRECTLY, if front of me. I looked up… but there wasn't anyone there.

"Look up a little more." the voice said. I did and...

"Ummm… what?" I said, looking at…

A… fairy?

If fairies could be the size of normal humans at least. She wore a cream colored one piece that looked a little snug on her, so it showed off her decent form. Two wings the size of her arm span fluttered behind her, keeping her aloft. She had blond hair that reached a little past her shoulders, which for some reason wasn't blowing around everywhere from all the wind around us. She looked kind enough, what with her cream-colored eyes and other small features, but she did look like she would start smacking shit around if that was needed.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't realize I caught a human." she said, her voice an unnaturally higher pitch. "I thought you were a pig that wandered in here or something."

"Umm…" I said, as the girl slowly drifted down to the ground. When she did hit the ground, an idea formed on in eyes. "Hey, wait. You're a human. You might know people!"

"Ummm… what?" I asked.

"Oh wait… I haven't said my name yet, have I? I'm Aira! The lady of the wind!" she said with a smile, holding her arms out. She was… definitely a bit scatterbrained.

"Y-yeah… umm, why did you bring me here?" I asked nervously.

She laughed gently. "I said I didn't mean to. But since you are here… I need help."

"Y-you… need help?"

"Yes…" she said, her face becoming the smallest bit serious looking. "I'm looking for a certain human. I was told that he lives in the direction of the sunset, and in that direction is the city. But… there's so many innocents in that place. I'd rather have the single person, rather than hundreds of lives…"

"O-okay…" I said slowly. "So… you're a hired help? What's the person's name?"

"Kind of." she admitted. "I was convinced to get rid of this person by… someone powerful. I don't know who he was, but he was definitely powerful."

'Not very descriptive…' I thought to myself, but before I could question her further, she spoke again.

"As for my target… you wouldn't happen to know a Cameron Wallis, would you?"

 **Annnd gotta end it here! Of course, out of all the people in the world, it has to be my OC that gets targeted. Almost like he was the protagonist of an ever-growing fanfic…**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! You guys think the name Aira is okay? Look it up and you'll see why I chose it.**

 **As always, if any of you guys/gals want to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server and when. And don't forget about my personal server as well! I may have not been on that in a while, but I'm getting back on it more, so I hope to see more of you awesome people there. Until next time, my dedicated readers, stay awesome.**


	28. Fencing With a Fairy

**Hello all of you awesome readers! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter of my story! When we last left off, a new person named Aira has just told our hero that she's hunting after a target. Which is Cameron himself. Let's see how he'll worm his way around this.**

 **Anyway, back to the story!**

Chapter 28: Fencing With a Fairy

I'm pretty sure I started sweating pretty heavily when she said my name. How else could I have reacted? This girl in front of me… she's hunting ME! What the fuck?!

"Um… hello?" the girl Aira said, waving a hand in front of my face.

"O-oh uh…" I said awkwardly. "I-I… I may know that guy. Cameron… Wallis?"

"Yes! So you do know him?" Aira said excitedly. "Can you bring him here please?"

"Not so fast." I said quickly. "First, I want to know what you're planning on doing to him. Then I'll bring him over here."

"Oh… uh… well…" Aira said softly, thinking. "I… I just want to talk to him real fast. That's all."

"No… that not what you said earlier." I corrected her. "You said something about 'getting rid of him'... you plan to kill him, don't you?"

Tiny little beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She rushed over to me and took my hand in a pleading way. "P-p-please don't tell him! I-I need to get this guy! Please, I'll do anything!"

"Woah, woah! Calm down…" I said gently. "Look… can you get rid of this wind storm here and at that city? I'll get him to you then."

"Y-you… you sure?" Aira asked me. I nodded in conformation. "O… okay."

Slowly, her hands raised up in the air. She muttered something under her breath once… and the sand tornado around us completely dissipated, all of the sand in it falling to the ground.

"S-so…" I said, my voice stuttering a little. "Y-you… can control wind…?"

Aira looked at me like I was a little slow. "Of course… I told you I'm Aira. The lady of the wind!"

"T-that means… you're a wind spirit?" I asked.

She nodded quickly. "Yes I am. Now… can you take me to the target?"

'Vivianna… get ready.' I said, turning my back to Aira for a second, appearing to look into my bag.

" _Wha… no. You can't be serious."_ Vivianna said, sounding like I was insane.

'I have no choice but to attack.' I told her. 'If I don't… what then? She'll probably kill hundreds of innocent lives.'

" _Bu… ugh… okay, I'm ready… I'll activate Serene Mind when you draw your sword."_ Vivianna said reluctantly.

"Miss Aira?" I said out loud, slinging my bag back over my shoulder.

"Yes?" she asked, not seeing my hands grasp my sword hilt.

"I'm afraid…" I started, turning quickly. "...that Cameron doesn't want to die today. But YOU will!"

I quickly swung, feeling the burst of calm and strength flow through me. And… I hit.

And it passed right through her. "AIYEEE! YOU MONSTER!" she screamed loudly, as her form disappeared to the wind.

For the count of ten, nothing happened. 'Was… was that all?' I asked Vivianna.

" _Odd… she didn't even try to fight back. Maybe you scared her off."_ Vivianna told me, sounding rather hopeful. " _Let's try to get out of this desert. If I remember right, it won't take long to get back to the city."_

'This doesn't feel right…' I thought to myself. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind and I had turned my back when a shifting noise of rising sand was heard behind me.

 _So._

 _You're my target. You're Cameron Wallis._

 _And you almost killed me._

The sound of Aira's voice echoed all around me. I couldn't focus on a specific point where the voice was coming from. 'Oh boy… shit has hit the fan now…' I thought, grasping my sword and standing at the ready.

Suddenly, the wind cycled around me, forming a tornado the size of the house. Standing at the other end was Aira, still with her playful smile. But her eyes were cold, ice cold.

"Aira! Call off your windstorm! Don't make me do this!" I said, thanking Vivianna for the fresh wave of calm. But Aira only laughed at my weak threat.

"You really think I'll call off my storm just because you demand me to? Oh my… I had my reservations before but now, I think this guy had the right idea when he told me to find you." she said.

"What guy? Who's after me?" I yelled.

"Like I said, I don't know his name. All I know is that he was very powerful. But!" she stopped, the sand filled winds swirling even faster around us. "Even so, he asked me to destroy you. But… there's nothing he said about not getting my worth out of you."

"What are you going on about?" I asked, confused. But she didn't respond. She only hummed a little to herself.

"Yes…" she said quietly. "That will do."

Then she turned her eyes back to me. "This is our deal. We fight to the death. Loser does any one thing the winner asks, and then dies. Those are my terms."

"What… what kind of terms or those?!" I shouted ludicrously. "You only made those up because you think you're going to win!"

"And if I don't? You will have any one thing out of me, and then you shall end me. Or would you rather keep a person who wants to kill you on the map?" she asked.

'Damn her logic…' I thought to myself. 'Still… we do have a slight advantage. Even though there's not much water around here… maybe some of the water bottles I brought could suffice?'

" _Maybe… I don't know. I definitely won't be able to make the cocoon of water, or the massive sword trick… but I could possibly come up with something."_ Vivianna told me. " _Accept her terms. And whatever you do, DON'T LOSE."_

"I have no intention to." I said to myself, before turning back to Aira. "You're on, Miss Blowhard. But I warn you, whatever happens…"

"Well…" I back up a step, preparing my strike. "Know that you brought this on yourself."

And I rushed forward and swung. But Aira had other ideas. Out of nowhere, a staff made wind and sand formed in her hands, just as my strike would have sliced through her torso. She bounced the blade back and thrusted the staff at my stomach, but I rolled away just in time.

"Serene Mind!" I yelled out, and just like that, time slowed down. The world became tinted with blue, as Aira's eyes slowly became shocked. "I got you now!" I yelled, bringing my blade down to her back.

But a sudden gust of wind knocked me off balance, so I only sliced a single lock of her hair. Startled, I felt the Serene Mind trick disappear. "You… you're a magic user?!" Aira shouted, clearly not happy about that.

"Not even close, Miss I-only-blow-things-around! And what the hell?! Where'd that wind gust come from?" I shouted in anger.

"Wind is much faster than anything else around here! You can't worm your way around it, monster!" Aira yelled back.

'Well that's just great… and I'm already out of wind puns.' I thought, but then Vivianna thought of something.

" _Oh! I know! It's risky, but if you throw a water bottle, I could make it explode in her face, knocking her off balance!"_ she said.

'But I don't have a whole lot of water bottles. Only like, five or six.' I reminded her.

" _Uh… okay, well, let's only use it if we have to. For now, let's just try it once."_ Vivianna said. Reluctantly, I jumped backward and pulled out the first bottle, the one I had drank half of. " _That'll work. Throw it!"_

I called out, "Hey Aira! Take this!" just as I chucked the bottle.

"Huh? A water bottle?" she said, effortlessly catching it. "What do you think I'm supposed to do with this?"

She kept speaking a little, but I stopped listen. Instead, I focused on the water in her hand, the glass surrounding it. I think it bubbled a little bit while I was thinking, but Aira didn't notice.

"What are you doing? We're in the middle of a fight and you suddenly sto-" she started, but never finished. Because the bottle exploded in her hand, knocking her off balance. I rushed in, confident.

But before I swung… I thought. And… I realized I couldn't kill this girl. Otherwise I'd be no different than her, trying to kill me. The only difference between us was that I could show mercy.

But I still needed to stop her. So I aimed my sword hilt at her stomach, knocking the air out of her. "O-ow… ouch…" she said, falling to a knee. The wind around us was still howling around us, but… was it getting slower?

"You're… you're pretty good." Aira admitted, shakily standing up. "I didn't know you knew water magic. But maybe you're forgetting my brand of magic!"

And suddenly she rose in her wings into the air. The sand around me shifted, and slowly built itself up, until now four creatures made entirely of sand appeared. "Let's see how well you do against my bodyguards!"

The beings drew weapons: two swords, a spear, and a mace. Suddenly, I wished I remembered my armor.

They all ran forward at the same time, so I needed to think quickly. I dodged a sword and ducked under the spear shaft. The mace came out of nowhere, but I rolled out of the way… and hit the other sword wielder. "Aha!"

I repeated this dodging game, much to the annoyance of Aira. "Come on already! Hit him!"

Pretty soon, all the sand creatures were severely battered up. "My turn." I said, swing my sword in a huge circle around me. The second my sword made contact the sand creatures quite literally exploded in a giant blasts of sand, some of which hit Aira on the wing. She fell down ten blocks and landed hard on her back. I ran forward and was about to pin her down when she pushed me away, breathing heavily.

"So… you've beaten my servants… and you've almost pinned me down already." she said softly.

"Servants?" I asked.

"You honestly think I do everything by myself?" she countered, standing back up shakily. She was using her staff to hold herself up while she caught her breath. Behind my back, I prepped another water bottle.

"I… I will not fail…" she said, her voice gradually getting louder. "I will… I will not lose… I will BEAT YOU!"

She thrusted her arms forward, and a massive gust of wind blew in right at me. I didn't get a chance to dodge before it hit me, sending me flying backwards right out of the tornado we were fighting in. The water bottle disappeared into the vortex.

I landed face first in the sand. I had traveled so far when I was sent flying, I could see the edge of the desert when I sat up. I looked back, still rather dazed, to see the massive tornado I had once stood in the middle of heading towards me.

'S-shit… how the hell do I fight a windstorm?!' I thought.

" _I… I have no idea."_ Vivianna admitted. " _But we have to think of something, and FAST."_

She was right. The tornado was getting closer and closer to me, trying to pull me right back in. It was probably a little over a hundred blocks away, but it was approaching really fast. But over the roar of the wind…

Laughing.

Aira was laughing.

It was being carried on the wind, her voice.

She thought I was done for.

She thought I couldn't get away from this.

And that got me pissed the fuck off.

I turned around and looked for something, ANYTHING to help me.

'There!' I thought, running along the edge of the desert. I could see a faint sliver of blue a good fifty blocks away, which could only mean one thing.

Water. And hopefully, lots of it. But I was weak. Her servants had taken a lot out of me, and landing face down into a pile of sand hadn't helped me in the slightest.

Behind me, the wind storm howled, tugging at my back, slowing me down a little as it tried to pull me back. "You can't run forever, little man! I'll get you soon enough!"

'Vi-Vivianna!' I thought sluggishly. The wind was taking its toll on me, my legs were getting tired, shakier. 'I… I need an energy boost!'

" _I'm… I'm trying."_ she said, sounding tired as well. " _I'll using up a lot of energy to give you strength to keep resisting the storm. If… if you can get to the water and jump in… I'll get a surge of power, so… just keep running!"_

I kept going. I rounded around a small hill, and…

There it was. A massive lake, stretching almost to the horizon. 'That… that'll work…' I thought weakly. My legs were shaking badly as I made my way to it.

"Just give up already!" her voice said behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Aira, slowly walking over to me. The tornado was at the edge of the desert, swirling menacingly. "This game of cat and mouse is getting boring. I promise I'll make the whole process as quick and painless as I can. Just give in already."

"N… nev… never!" I said, continuing my trudge to the water. A new gust of wind was blowing right in my face, pushing me against my will.

"Come on." Aira said softly, now right behind me, whispering in my ear. "I'll make you a new deal. If you come with me… I won't kill you. I'll take you back to my domain. You'll live the rest of your life with me. And… I'll treat you very well. VERY well."

Her tone was enough to make me question this. Is… is she telling the truth? She'll take me back to her place and let me live life there? And the way she's talking… sounds like there'd be some… things that would happen.

'T-tempting…' I thought to myself.

That's when I was thankful there was another voice in my head. So that it could slap me to get me thinking straight. " _Cameron! Get a grip on yourself! She's trying to trick you so that it'll be easy to kill you! You're literally fifteen blocks away from the water. Run for it!"_

"Come on… don't you think I know how to keep a man happy?" Aira said behind me, pushing her D cups against my back. There was a blush on my face, but I was doing my best to keep it in control. "And I'll bet… you want to hear a girl moan in pleasure. Maybe like… this?"

She started to gently moan right into my ear, slowly getting louder. My blush was getting a little deeper across my face, and a bulge was starting to from in my pants. I could literally see an image form in my mind at that moment, of the sounds happening behind a closed door…

'NO! BAD CAMERON!' I thought, mentally slapping myself. 'She's doing this to seduce me! Resist the temptation…'

"Oh?" Aira said behind me. "You're actually resisting? Hmm… you're a tougher type of man, huh? But…" her hands gently traced along the side of my arm. "If you come with me… I'm sure I'll find a way to break you. All men have limits. So… want to help me find yours?"

"Ngh…" I groaned softly to myself. That's when I realized something. The wind that was blowing in my face wasn't there anymore. She had stopped the wind because she needed to focus of seducing me.

'Vi-Vivianna. Get ready.' I thought weakly. No response came back to me, so I assumed she was ready.

"That's… that's a mighty nice offer you cooked up Aira." I said, slowly about-facing to look at her. The look on her face was looking at me… as if she was trying to see me in a different way. "And… I'd love to join in your little offer."

"Well then…" Aira said, looking pleased at me. "Want to try something first? Just a little something I thought up."

I could just barely see her tongue poke out of her mouth, barely visible. I got the message all the same. 'This'll work.' I thought, slowly grinning.

A devilish smile appeared on her face as she floated upward slightly, as she was shorter than me. Now we were eye level. Her hands gently rest on my shoulders as her face slowly moves closer to me, her eyes half-lidded. I played along by gently placing a hand on the back of her head.

Her eyes close all the way as her lips pucker up. But she never saw what my other hand was doing behind my back.

In one swift movement, I forced a brand new water bottle into her mouth, the water quickly overflowing her mouth. Her eyes bulged open as the water hit her throat, throwing her off balance.

"How's that for the devil's kiss?" I called out, turning around and jogging to the water. She spat out the water in her mouth and threw the bottle away, but couldn't get the winds to start blowing at me before I fully submerged myself into the lake.

At first, nothing happened. I began to worry that I might have pushed Vivianna a little too hard. Then… the water began to bubble around me, flowing towards me.

" _Water… new life…"_ Vivianna said, her voice quickly becoming empowered. " _The water is the source of all life in this world… may it's power help you, Cameron."_

And newfound energy surged into my very bones, refreshing me and giving me strength at the same time. I pulled my sword out, and willed it to become stronger. Bigger. More powerful than it already was. The water bent to my will, forming a new barrier around it.

Slowly, I rose out of the water, not noticing the blue aura that now surrounded me. Aira stared at me, standing on the blue plane of water that was giving me incredible strength. I raised my sword, now encased in a humungous amount of water, making it look like twenty blocks long and five wide.

I opened my mouth, and when I spoke, me and Vivianna were talking at the same time, in perfect unison. "You may have your little wind powers, but that will be nothing compared to the might of water. Drown in your sorrows!"

Before Aira could even react, my sword swung forward, knocking her off of her feet. I ran forward onto solid ground, and kicked her in the gut. She fell to her knees, coughing.

I turned to her tornado, which was looking like it was becoming unstable with Aira losing power. I raised my left hand in front of me, and a huge amount of water rose with it, morphing into the shape of a giant fist. I raised it up, and sent the fist crashing into the tornado, stopping the winds at once. All the sand that had been sucked up into it fell straight down to the ground along with the water, creating a new soggy sand hill at the edge of the desert.

"N-no… I won't… let you win!" Aira said behind me, jumping at me. I turned just in time for her to punch me squarely in the chest. She must have put some wind power into it as well, because I flew backwards several blocks, thankfully getting back onto my feet quickly. She would've done more had I not made another, smaller fist of water hit her in the side. She fell down, looking weaker.

"It's over!" Vivianna and I said at the same time, as I raised my watery sword. Before she could get away, I swung. Just before it hit, I made the sword explode around her, causing Aira to be stuck clawing up in the water to get out, trying to scream, but only letting water get into her lungs. Not wanting to drown her, I thrust my arms back, and the water rushed everywhere except to me, drenching the entire surrounding area. I remained perfectly dry.

Sword still in hand, I walked over to a sputtering Aira, lying on the ground. She was coughing hard. She must have swallowed a lot of the water. I pointed my sword at her weakened state, noticing that twenty minutes had passed since I arrived at the desert.

"Y-you… you beat me…" she said, coughing up a little more water. "W-well… a deal is a deal. You… you may do any one thing you ask of me. Anything. And then… kill me. Or…" she paused, looking into my eyes with regret. "Just kill me now. Yes… just end me now. I've failed. He might try to find me and kill me anyway. He said he would if I failed. End me now!"

A single tear escaped her eyes, dripping down onto the soaked ground. My face was still hard as stone as I looked at her.

I raised my sword up. She saw that, and couldn't look. She looked down to the ground, a sob escaping her. But she didn't try to fight back. My grip tightened on the sword…

And I brought it down.

 _Thirty minutes earlier…_

 _Susie POV…_

For the longest time, the whole room was quiet.

" _You mean my brother?"_

That phrase kept on repeating over and over in my mind. End, the enderman that Cameron's sister was dating… was Andr's brother? Im… impossible!

"Y-y-you're… brother?!" I said, thinking that I heard her wrong.

"Yes… I have a brother named End. I haven't seen him in a while… why do you ask?" Andr replied, looking confused at my outburst.

"N-no… he's…" I said weakly.

"Mistress?" Snowy said, shaking my shoulder firmly. I shook my head to clear it and looked at her. "Are you okay? What's so important about this… End, other than…?" she asked.

'Oh right… Snowy has never met End, has she?' I thought to myself. I sighed, trying to wrap my head around everything. "I'll… I'll explain in a minute Snowy. Now, Andr… do you have any way of getting your brother here? Just so I can make sure it really is the one I'm talking about."

"Um… yes?" Andr said softly. "I… I'll call him now."

"Thank you." I said, leaning back into my chair. Snowy looked concerned about me, but she didn't question me.

Then out of nowhere, Andr's eyes suddenly started glowing a bright purple, and she seemed to be out of focus.

Then, a minute later, she blinked and her eyes turned back to normal. "He's… he's on his way…" Andr said, still not sure where all of this was going.

True to her word, ten seconds later an enderman appeared in the center of the room, looking the smallest bit peeved. "Andr! I thought I told you to not…" but his rant stopped when he saw me and Snowy, as well as Andr sitting across from us. "Susie?"

"End? So… you two really are siblings…" I said quietly. Both Andr and End were looking rather confused.

"What did you call me here for?" End asked.

"Take a seat. This might take awhile." I said.

 _About twenty minutes of getting End up to speed…_

"...and now Cameron has run out of town, trying to warn Paige about this whole mess." I finished. End was… paralyzed.

"I… Andr, how come you never told me this?" End asked his sister. Andr looked away, but she wasn't embarrassed. She looked… sad.

"Be… because I never wanted to share it with anyone." she admitted. "Even to my own brother…. it's like trying to give a piece of me to someone else. I only ever told that to these guys because… well, I felt like… I could trust them."

"More than your own brother?" Snowy asked.

"Y-yes… more than him even." Andr replied softly, not meeting End's eyes. "Because… it's one thing to talk about this with strangers. It's a whole other thing… to talk about it with the only family you have."

"A-Andr…" End said softly, taking one of his sister's hands. "You should know that something like this… I should've had the right to know. But… I guess that it would be weird to talk about this… I mean, I don't think…"

"You don't think… what?" Andr asked, curious.

"I… I don't think… that we shared the same mother." he admitted, leaving Andr in a stunned silence. "I… I always remember my mother smiling down at me, but… I never really knew much about my father. He left me when I was still a baby."

For the longest time, all was quiet. Then, I decided to speak up.

"E-End… not to break the mood or anything, but now that you know the risk of being with Paige… does it change anything?"

End stayed quiet for the count of ten. When he did finally speak, his voice was soft, yet still filled with determination. "N… No. This changes… absolutely nothing. We've… we've been careful this whole time. No one in either of our homelands knows about the relationship we have. And now… I intend to keep it that way, only telling the few people I know I can trust."

He stood back up, cracking his knuckles. "I need to go back home and think for awhile. Thank you for getting me here Susie. Thank you for the warning. I promise I'd rather hang myself before I slip up now."

With that, he teleported away, back to his homeland. Andr let out a huge sigh, before giggling under her breath. "That's my big brother alright… gets what info he wants and leaves just as quickly."

Snowy could understand that Andr looked upset. So she did the only thing that she could think of: try to comfort her friend. She crawled over to her and placed a hand on Andr's knee. "An… Andr?"

Andr looked up to see Snowy staring right at her. "It's going to be okay. I know it will. There's nothing to be upset about, right?"

"I… I guess not to much… but what about Cameron? What's taking him so long?" she asked. To that I simply sighed.

"Ugh… Cameron… I love you but you're an idiot sometimes." I said to myself. "Don't worry about him Andr. He's very tough, he'll be able to handle himself."

"Ouuu… I miss my Master…" Snowy said, her ears drooping sadly when she remembered how Cameron had just ran out before.

"Shhh…" Andr said, gently picking up Snowy and pulling her into a hug. Snowy looked surprised for a second, when Andr started speaking again. "Don't worry… I know he'll come back to you. I think he'd rather die than run away from this place."

"You… you think he likes this place that much?" Snowy asked Andr. To which Andr simply smiled.

"That, yes. But… I think he likes you a little bit more than just the place." she said, tightly holding Snowy. "And… I kinda see where he's coming from."

I… I wasn't sure why I started feeling like this, but suddenly I started getting jealous of Snowy. Cameron liked BOTH of us the same, not just Snowy. I was just about to say that when I remembered: Andr doesn't know about our little harem thing going on. She doesn't know about that yet.

But Snowy wasn't as fast. "Well, I'm sure Master also likes Mistress a whole lot more than me. She was the first…"

That's when Snowy realized who she was talking to and tried to slam the brakes to late. Andr heard everything.

"He… what? Wait… no. He… he likes… you too, Susie?" Andr said, her face paling the smallest bit. I didn't even have to answer. The blush that was forming on my face already said wonders.

For a few seconds, no one said anything. Then Andr… gently laughed. "I should've known… how would he not like the two girls living with him?"

Then she… did something out of nowhere.

And kissed Snowy on the cheek.

If Snowy wasn't blushing before, she was now. As was I.

"H-h-h-h-huh?! Wh-wh-wh-what?" Snowy stuttered out.

Andr obviously had a deep blush on her face as well, but she still… softly smiled. "I like small, adorable puppies. I've said that before, no?"

Snowy glanced at me, either saying, 'What do I do in this situation?' or 'Help me.'

I assumed the former was what she was going for. I returned her with a look that said, 'Do you like her as well?'

'I… I mean, she's very nice to me…'

'And you kissed me before, because I was nice to you, right?'

'Well… yes, but, still…'

'I'm not forcing you to make a choice. I'm saying for you to just do what you think you want to do.'

Snowy looked at me for a second before her gaze returned to Andr's blushing face. A moment of thinking later and… she gently licked Andr on the cheek. Her own way of saying, 'Is… is this okay with you?'

In response, Andr giggled, and pulled Snowy closer. Snowy looked almost afraid of what was to happen, but she allowed it to continue, just to see where this was going to go.

And then…

Andr fully kissed Snowy. Like, full on the lips.

Snowy's face first went to fear, then to confusion, then to a slowly relaxing face, then to happiness. Once she calmed down, she started adding to the kiss as well.

They stayed together for a good ten more seconds before parting, looking at each other lovingly. Snowy happened to glance over at me, seeing my… embarrassed face? Jealous face? I honestly had no idea what face I was making at the time.

She whispered into Andr's ear, something that I couldn't make out. Andr blushed a little harder, but she gently nodded, before looking right at me.

"C-care to join, Susie?" she said, scooting over the slightest bit. I was slightly shocked but… my instincts won out quickly. Hesitantly, I walked over and sat down with those two, filling up the chair to it's fullest. Snowy's arms wrapped around my shoulders, as she looked right into my eyes lovingly.

I'm honestly not completely sure how long the three of us stayed together like that. All I know is that when we parted, we were all breathing a little deeply. Andr's face was one big blush, as was Snowy's. Me? My blush was rather light, which I wasn't to sure as to why, but I guess it didn't really matter too bad.

I gently chuckled before asking, "So Andr… when did you start swing for the other team?"

If possible, her blush became even deeper than it already was. She tried to think of a way out of this, but nothing came to mind, so she said nothing. I would've teased her more, but then…

A loud thumping rang out. The sound of the door getting opened very fast.

And standing in the doorway was a battered looking Cameron, holding his sword tightly in his right hand.

He looked sweat soaked and tired, not to mention dizzy.

"I'm back…" he said softly, before collapsing to the floor and passing out instantly.

He stayed unconscious for the rest of the day.

Now what had my Cameron gotten himself into?

 **And that's that! Sorry that the chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but hey, I felt that I had said everything I wanted in this one.**

 **And as I didn't get to say it before…**

 **TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! Switched characters right as the plot was getting good! HA!**

 **Man… this is the first time I've had a major cliffhanger, and it wasn't a cockblock! That's not something you saw coming, eh?**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Did I do okay with writing the fight out? Please let me know if I did okay or not.**

 **As always, if you want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. And don't forget about my personal server! I still have plenty of open spots over there for you guys. Until next time my readers, stay awesome.**


	29. When the Wind Blows

**Hello all of you awesome readers! Welcome back to another chapter, made by ButterHunter, the one and only! I've got nothing new at all to say, so to hell with the intro, let's get right back in!**

Chapter 29: When the Wind Blows...

 _Some time before the last chapter ended…_

 _Cameron POV…_

Aira's head was down, having been defeated. She was waiting for the sword to come down on her and end her life.

And I swung down.

She tensed up… but she never felt the blade hit her. A minute passed. Then two. Slowly, she looked up a little to see the sword halfway buried in the ground in front of her. She looked up a little higher to see… me, holding my hand out. "Come on. Stand up." I said softly.

Very, very cautiously, she took it and I hoisted her onto her feet. "Y-you… you spared me…" I heard her say under her breath.

"Yeah, I did. Because I'm not a murderer." I said. "I know when to show mercy, and when to keep swinging. I… I honestly don't think you're a bad person. You just… were misguided I think."

"C-Cameron…" she said softly. I almost forgot that she knew my name.

"But that still doesn't mean I like the fact that you tried to kill me." I said, my voice turning stone cold. She cringed in my gaze, looking like she wanted to disappear. "But… I'll give you a second chance. You'd better not screw it up."

Suddenly, she did disappear. To tackle me in a huge bear hug, catching me off guard. "S-so… you're not gonna k-kill me?"

"Of course not." I said softly. I tentatively hugged her back, trying to work my way around her wings.

"Ohh… but…" Aira said quietly, letting go of me. She looked very worried. "T-that man… the one who wanted me to kill you… he made it clear that I would die if I screwed up. And… I screwed up big time."

She began to freak out a little bit, trying to decide what she would do to stay away from the man who had threatened her.

" _Cameron. What the actual hell are you thinking?!"_ Vivianna asked me. " _She tried to kill you, but you're going to spare her?!"_

'Well what would you have done? Besides, she said her life was on the line if she didn't. But… now we need to think of a way to help her. I don't want to have to think about what might happen in the future if I don't.' I told Vivianna.

" _Urgh… you're too nice for your own good sometimes."_ Vivianna said quietly.

"Well excuse me for sparing an innocent life!" I said indignantly.

Aira stared at me. "Uh, what? Are… are you talking to yourself?"

'Oh shit.' I thought.

"Y-yeah, sorry, voices in my head arguing again." I said quickly, trying to cover up the mistake. But Aira saw through me.

"Hmm…" she said, looking into my eyes. At least she seemed distracted from her predicament for now. But still, the way she squinted into my eyes… it wasn't right. It felt like she was scanning my entire being through my eyes.

Then suddenly, her eyes widened. "There's… something else there." she said softly. "You… you have a spirit inside your head."

'Fuck.' me and Vivianna both said/thought at the same time.

" _Deny her."_ Vivianna instructed me. I didn't need to be told twice.

I gave Aira a look that said, 'Umm… what?'

"Stop playing dumb. You know it just as well as I do." Aira deadpanned. "How else would you be able to control water like you did?"

"You know what?" I tried. "I think I may have scrambled your brain a little with the water. You should probably rest a little."

Aira only looked at me like, 'Are you done yet?'

"I really don't know what you're…"

Silence.

"I…"

Nothing.

"... uh…"

Her silence made me completely shut up.

"Argh… fine, you caught me." I gave in after two minutes of awkward staring at each other. "Vivianna, we're busted. Say hi to Aira."

Just like that, I couldn't move or feel my face, as Vivianna once again took control over it. My face formed one of deep dislike of this task. "So. You caught me in here." Vivianna's voice spoke from my mouth once again.

Aira looked shocked for the briefest of seconds, before returning to her neutral state. "Yes, I did. You didn't think a spirit could see where another is hiding, even if their not the same type?"

"I almost thought that. The hope was since you are wind and I am water, you wouldn't detect me here." Vivianna said quickly.

Aira nodded. "As did I, until rather recently."

Vivianna gave me back my control. I shook my head a little to shake off the feeling, and then returned my gaze back to Aira. "So, what are you going to do?"

Aira looked crestfallen at that question. "I… I don't know… I've got nowhere to go… nowhere to hide. My home is too far away, and it's barely standing at this point. Ouuu… what do I do…"

Seeing all that made me feel right bad about this girl. Even Vivianna, even if she didn't want to say it, was softening, because when she spoke to me again, her tone was much softer than before.

" _You're absolutely sure that you think she's not going to hurt you? And you're willing to help her for no reason other than you feel bad?"_

'Of course. Because that's who I am.' I replied.

Then suddenly, Aira got an idea. And it must have been a huge one, because she started mumbling to herself faster than the wind.

"Yes yes YES!" she almost shouted in excitement. "That's it!"

"What, what is?" I asked.

"I know what to do to get away!" she said looking at me with a smile.

"Really? How?"

"Simple!" she said, before getting right in my face. "I'll just join you and that other spirit!"

For a few seconds, me and Vivianna stayed completely silent, as what this girl was proposing slowly dawned on us.

Then came the words.

"Are you crazy?!" I said. "That's…"

"Please! I need to! I… I don't want to die!" Aira pleaded, looking at me with teary eyes.

"I… I already have one voice in my head. I don't need two. I'll help you find some other way. ANY other way. May… maybe we can build you a house in the sky, far away or something. Or, a house hidden in a cave." I tried to reason.

"No no no! It has to be you!" she said. "You're strong. You'll find a good use for my power! You already seem to have decent use of those water powers. Having me in your head… you'll be even stronger!"

"But…" I said.

But then Vivianna spoke to me.

" _Cameron… I can't believe I'm about to say this, but… I think she has a point. It's… not easy to be up here all alone. There may be lots of things to look at, but… it can get a little lonely up here. Plus… she's not bluffing about her powers. Look at what you could do with just water! Imagine what you might be able to do with wind as well!"_

'Wha… Vivianna! You were just hating the fact that I helped this girl not two minutes ago! Now all the sudden you think that she's right?!' I thought angrily.

" _Minds can change about something in an instant Cameron."_ Vivianna rebutted. " _Come on. You want to help the poor girl, right? Then do it."_

'Argh… fine.' I thought.

I returned my gaze back to Aira. "Okay… fine. You want to get into my head… fine."

"R-really?!" Aira asked, as if she hadn't dared to believe that her plan would work.

"Yeah. Really. Though I'm not too excited about this…" I replied.

Vivianna sighed in my mind. Clearly she was thinking that I was acting like a whiney little baby. Well… maybe I was, but still, I already had one spirit in my head. Do I really have to let another one in?

Whatever the case, Aira looked at me as if I was the creator Notch himself. She tentatively took my hands with her own, looking up into my eyes. "You… you're sure you'll let me do this?"

I nodded, though a little reluctantly. She smiled softly before letting go of my hands to hug me again. I slowly returned it. I thought about letting her help me. Giving her trust to enter my mind. That's how Vivianna had gotten in, I think.

A soft glow of light formed between us. Very slowly, I felt Aira leave my arms, leaving me hugging only air. After two more seconds, the light faded away, and it was just me standing in the forest.

" _Welcome Aira."_ Vivianna said.

" _Woooaaahhh… this place is big…"_ the voice of Aira said, sounding amazed.

'You'd better not make a mess up there.' I thought. Promptly, I heard something break. 'What did I say?!'

" _S-sorry! I just dropped something… this glass ball."_ Aira said softly.

'There's a glass ball in my head?'

" _She joking. She only played a sound effect from your memory banks of something breaking to annoy you."_ Vivianna reassured. " _Well then… I suppose we should get you home now."_

'Not yet. First I have to go do something at Blockington. _Then_ we can go home.' I said quickly, pulling out some paper and my pencil.

" _Ooh! I can help! Can I help?"_ Aira asked excitedly.

'Uhh… how?'

" _Like this! I think…"_ Aira replied. Suddenly, my eyes glowed a little. The reflection of the lake showed me that my eyes were now… a light, cream color.

" _Aaannd off we go!"_ she said. Without much else of a warning, suddenly I slowly rose five blocks into the air.

"Woooaaah! H-hey! Put me down!" I yelled, startled. Aira didn't listen. She focused on steadily rising me into the air, Now I was ten blocks from the ground, above most of the trees here.

"Aira! I said put me down!" I called out again.

" _But… this would make for a good lesson! A flying lesson!"_ she said. " _Use the winds to carry you to the city!"_

"I don't…" I tried to complain.

" _Please try Cameron! I've always wanted to show someone how to fly!"_ Aira pleaded with me.

"I… ugh… alright…" I said rather reluctantly. I guess Aira can be rather hard headed about some things. Just like me, I guess. "So… how does this work?"

" _Easy! Just look in the direction you want to go, and imagine wind behind you pushing you that way!"_ Aira said.

I was still getting used to, oh I don't know, standing up in the middle of the air, but I guess practice makes perfect. So once Vivianna told me which way to go to get to Blockington, I turned that way, like Aira said. Then, I tested the winds, imagining a soft breeze blowing in from behind me.

Five seconds later, the breeze came in, slowly pushing me forward towards the city. 'Huh… this isn't too bad I guess…' I thought.

" _See? You got this! Now let the winds rip!"_ Aira said excitedly. Her tone was playful, full of energy. It was almost contagious.

Almost.

Once I felt ready, I imagined a strong wind behind me, blowing me to the city quickly. The winds bent to my will, increasing force and launching me forward.

"WOOOAAAHH!" I shouted. I wasn't fully prepared. The ground was moving so fast under me…

" _There!"_ Vivianna said in my mind. Sure enough, the walls of the city came into view. Not wanting to waste time, I scanned the city and found a safe place to land in, down one of the many alleyways. No one saw me as I quickly flew over the wall and downward, touching down on the ground safely.

"Whew… that… was…" I said, panting a little. The winds were a fast way to travel, but it felt like I had just been wrestling a cow into a pen it refused to go into. Hard to control, but not impossible. Just took some willpower, and possibly a little luck.

" _Wow Cameron, that was awesome!"_ Aira spoke to me, sounding joyful. " _You picked up on it like you'd done that before a million times!"_

'I got lucky. Whew… I'm tired…' I thought.

" _Mmm… using the wind like that does take a lot out of a person…"_ Aira agreed. " _But if you use it a few more times, you'll get the hang of it quickly. Now, what are we doing back here?"_

'I need to see if my sister is back yet. Then I need to make a stop by my old friends shop and give him a note. All goes well, I'll heading back home in a few minutes.' I told her.

Turns out it would been even faster than that. I got to my sister's house, but she still wasn't in yet, so I scribbled her a note about what I had wanted to say, and slid it through her mail slot. And once I got to Zach's shop, Jerry told me that he had stepped out for a while to grab a bite to eat, and wouldn't be back for a least an hour or two.

'Well that's just great.' I thought, quickly making my way out of the city. The guards almost looked at me funny, before they dismissed it as nothing. 'Yeah, I don't think I can just land in the middle to the city anytime I want. I could tell that they hadn't seen me go back in, but then I just waltzed right out.'

" _Well whatever. Right now, you need to head back home. The other girls are probably worried sick right now."_ Vivianna told me.

'Alright… here we go again.' I thought reluctantly. Once again, when I was a safe distance away from the city, the wind picked up, taking me with it. This time I didn't go as fast, but still would be home pretty quickly.

Easily passing over one of the mountains four minutes later, I started feeling a little more in control of the winds. "Heh… this is kinda fun once you get used to it." I said out loud, diving down and pulling back up just as fast.

" _Careful there tiger."_ Vivianna warned me. " _The last thing you want to happen is to smack right into a mountain you didn't see."_

"Relax Vivianna." I assured her. The house should be pretty close by now. "I'm almost home. There's no mountains this close to home by now. What's the worst that could happen?"

As soon as that thought left my mouth, I looked up and smacked face first into a tree. And let me say, the tree definitely won that fight. I lost control of the winds around me, falling down a few blocks. Thankfully the ground was a soft landing. "Oww…" I moaned out loud, rubbing my head.

" _I told you to be careful…"_ Vivianna reminded me softly.

"Where the hell did that tree come from?" I said, looking up. That tree hadn't been there before, otherwise me and Snowy would have seen it when we left for Blockington.

" _Doesn't matter. Can you stand?"_ Vivianna asked me, concerned.

I tried to stand up, and was met with a headache, as well as a dizzy feeling pretty much everywhere. "Kinda… my head hurts…"

" _No duh. You flew right into a tree."_ Aira commented.

"Oh be quiet. You did nothing to warn me about it." I said angrily.

" _Whatever. Come on, let's go already."_ Aira said, impatient. I tried to concentrate on the winds…

But I couldn't focus. I felt tired, from both the fight and now just running face first into a tree. "No good… I'm exhausted." I said.

" _Well that's just great. Alright, get ready to walk. The house is one, maybe two hundred blocks away from here."_ Vivianna told me.

I nodded, and once again started my trip back home, though at a much slower, safer pace.

Five minutes later, finally the house was in front of me. My legs were shaking from exhaustion, my breath heavy, and a bump had formed on my head by now. I got to the door and pushed it open, my energy leaving me quickly.

"I'm home…" was the last thing I remembered saying before I collapsed to the ground and passed out.

 _7:00 pm…_

 _Snowy POV…_

"Ouuu… Master, what happened to you…"

I said that softly as I sat next to his unconscious form. I was in the sickbay, watching my Master sleep peacefully. I wasn't happy that he had just ran out of the house before, but at least I knew he was safe now.

The door to the sickbay opened, and in stepped my mistress, Susie. She looked at me and said, "Come on Snowy. You're dinner is going to get cold."

"Can I bring it up here? I want to make sure that if Master wakes up, I can tackle him in a hug first." I asked.

"Yes, you may." Susie said, before continuing. "How's the bump on his head looking?"

"Okay, I guess…" I said, looking back at it. The bump was slowly fading away, but it still looked tender. I didn't know where it had come from, but Susie had said it wasn't much to worry about, it would fade by tomorrow, the next day at the latest.

Susie took the only other seat and sat down next to me, wrapping her arm around me as we looked at Master. "What has our Cameron gotten himself into this time?"

"I wish I knew… I don't think I'm gonna sleep well tonight…" I admitted, my ears drooping a little.

"Aww… don't be sad Snowy." Susie said, running her hand through my hair gently. "He'll be back up on his feet before you know it."

"I know… I just… wish I could speak to him. Wish he could hear me." I said softly, looking at his peaceful face.

"Come on. Let's eat dinner." Susie said, standing up, holding her hand out. I took it and followed her to the kitchen, but I stayed there to eat dinner rather than heading back up to Master.

The rest of the day wasn't very eventful, save for Andr coddling me once more. Have I ever mentioned how much I like attention? I really like attention. A lot.

But today, Andr could tell… something was wrong. "Something wrong Snowy? You seem out of it." she asked.

I sighed, before letting go of Andr. "Master." I said softly. "I'm… I'm worried about him."

"Hmm…" Andr said, looking at my sad face. "Don't be upset. He'll be fine, I'm sure of it. He… he looks like he's made of much stronger stuff than most are. After all… his upbringing…"

She trailed off. She didn't need to finish her sentence. We both knew plenty about Master's horrible past life. But… now he never has to reflect on that. Now… since meeting us… he's happy. And when I look into his deep, brown eyes… I can see genuine happiness. Something that, to me, looks like something he never felt for the longest time. How long has it been since he's known me and Susie? Maybe… almost a month now? Maybe more? It already feels like years.

"I… I hope so…" I said softly. Seeing that I was still really sad, Andr pulled me into another hug. But… this one felt like a comfort hug, rather than just a normal one.

"There there… it'll be alright…" she cooed to me.

We stayed there the rest of the day. She continued to rub my back gently, just like Master would, saying over and over, "He'll be fine. You'll see."

It took a lot of effort to get me separated from Andr. Not because she was holding me tightly or anything, but because… I didn't want to leave her warmth.

I slowly wandered upstairs to my room, but not before checking on Master one last time. His face still looked peaceful, like he didn't have a care in the world. I gently touched his arm, before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Master… see you in the morning." I said quietly.

It may have just been my imagination, but I could swear that the corners of his mouth started to curl. Just a little bit.

I left the sickbay and headed to my room. I hadn't slept there in awhile. The bed is still nice and neat from when I made it three days ago. I crawled into the soft sheets, thinking happy thoughts about… me and Master outside playing together, us training by the lakeside, me and Susie taking our turns in kissing him… they all brought a soft smile to my face.

I closed my eyes gently… and then a soft knocking rang on my door. I looked up, and called out softly, "Come in…"

The door creaks open, and there stands Susie, in a nightgown. "Hey Snowy… did you already say your goodnight to Cameron? I'm turning off the lights in there."

"Yes, I did. Goodnight Mistress." I said quietly. She nodded, and left the doorway. I was about to place my head back on the pillow when I realized Susie had left the door open a crack.

I got up and went to close it, when suddenly Susie appeared in the doorway again. "Yes Mistress?" I asked her.

"I…" she started softly. "I was thinking… if you don't think you're going to be able to sleep tonight… you're more than welcome to come downstairs with me…"

I blinked slowly, before asking, "Mistress… are you worried about Master as well? Thinking that you won't be able to sleep well without him?"

A small blush appeared on her cheeks, so I assumed I had hit the nail on the head. "N-no, why would… okay fine, yeah, I'm worried about him. I didn't want to worry you further, so… I tried to act positive for your sake."

For a solid ten seconds, we just looked at each other, not saying anything. Then, I walked over and grabbed her right hand, which was on the door handle.

"Come… come on in. Let's… let's go to bed." I said softly. Susie's eyes widened a little bit, but she soon followed after me.

Together, we snuggled up under the covers of my bed. I felt… a little better, at least. This was familiar. This was nice. Susie… she was warm. And soft.

"Good… good night, Mistress… sweet dreams." I said even softer. She looks a little surprised at my boldness, but she soon got comfy I think.

"Goodnight… Snowy." she said, just as soft. Her arms wrap around me a little tighter, and she closes her eyes gently. Good, now I could let the small blush I was trying to suppress flow freely across my face.

"Uuu… so soft and warm…" I think I mumbled to myself. I'm not sure.

Even so, I felt myself nodding off quickly in this embrace. It… it almost felt like Master was right there, holding me close to him…

Slowly, my eyes closed. Pretty soon, I drifted off to dreamland…

 _Back to Cameron POV…_

"Ugh…"

"Weeeeeee! I love it here!"

My head hurt a little bit. I guess the tree had done quite a bit of damage, though nothing too serious. Hopefully I would be better in the morning.

In any case, when I opened my eyes once again, I found my head was resting on Vivianna's lap. Her hands were fussing with my hair once again, but I didn't really mind. "Hey… what time is it?"

"Can't tell. I know that the other two just went to bed though." Vivianna told me, looking down at me. She was smiling, though… she looked a little tired.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just… I had to teach Aira everything about being up here. I'm a little worn down, but I'll be fine." Vivianna said, helping me sit up.

Then out of nowhere Aira appears, looking at me with a grin. "I love it up here! So nice and roomy…"

When I glared at her, she quickly tried to cover herself up. "I didn't mean that your head is empty! Not at all! Just… there's so much space to roam around here!"

"Yeah, whatever you say…" I said softly, rolling my eyes.

"Sooo… how long are you staying here?" Aira asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. As long as the real me is asleep I guess."

"He loves it when he comes here…" Vivianna said, hugging me from behind and pulling me close to her. "Because I treat him well…"

"Don't put ideas in her head!" I hissed quietly. "But… I won't deny that I like coming here."

"See?" Vivianna said to a slightly confused Aira. "Every night he comes here so I can be with him. My favorite time of the day."

Vivianna's grip on me tightened a little bit more, pushing her large wrack into my back. I blushed a little bit at that, which Aira caught. "I see that… look at him blush. Even more than when I teased him."

"Hm hm… he's adorable when he gets all nervous like this…" Vivianna said, her voice right next to my ear. The blush only deeped a little bit more on my face.

"Uh… Vivianna? Can I stand up now?" I asked softly.

"Why? Don't you want to stay in my embrace? I thought you loved it here…" Vivianna said, sounding hurt.

"I-I-I do, it's just…" I started, but Vivianna wasn't done.

"Or… maybe you like it better when I hug you… like this!" she said, turning me around and locking me in the hug again.

"Aww come on Vivi! Now I can't see his blush!" Aira said, trying to break Vivianna's grip on me.

"You can see it after I do this." Vivianna replied, before pulling away to look at my face. Quickly, she pulled me into another kiss. If my face wasn't red before, it was now. But before I could even try to get out of the kiss, I've fully relaxed into it, moaning a little in happiness.

After five seconds she pulls away and gently turns me back around, holding me softly. "There. How's that blush for you?" she asked Aira, who was sporting her own blush of embarrassment.

"Y-you… you just k-kissed him without a care in the world…" Aira said softly, looking at my blissful, burning face.

"Yep. Because that's the way he likes it." Vivianna said softly, squeezing my hand gently.

"She's not wrong…" I said dreamily. Then suddenly, an idea came to my mind. "Though…" I started, getting myself out of my stupor. "There's something I like even more than that."

"Really?" Vivianna asked, confused. "What?"

I flashed her a sly smile, and quickly turned back around and got on her eye level, catching her off guard. "When I'm the one who does the surprises." I said softly, before kissing her gently. Now it was her turn to blush, though it wasn't nearly as deep as mine had been.

I parted from her lips and looked into her eyes after ten more seconds. She could only gaze back, happy that I was trying to get bolder.

And then I remembered Aira.

I turned back around to see Aira blushing furiously, wings fluttering in a nervous way I guess. "Y-you… you two… like each other?!" she asked, amazed.

Vivianna simply giggled a little bit, pulling me closer to her again. "Yep. Is that wrong?" she asked bluntly.

I don't think Aira was expecting the blunt answer, because now she was slowly blinking a little bit, as if Vivianna had slapped her across the face. "I… I don't… I mean…"

Vivianna giggled a little bit more, before patting the ground right in front of me, in a 'come sit' gesture. I glance back at Vivianna, saying with my eyes, 'What are you planning?'

She responds with, 'You'll see soon enough.' I didn't like the look of that…

Aira probably also felt something wasn't right here, because she wasn't moving forward. "Well… come on. We don't bite." I said softly.

Slowly, she walked over to us and sat down in front of me. Vivianna still had her arms wrapped around me, so I could hear her breath on my neck. And… it sounded like she was preparing for something.

Before I could ponder about that more though, Vivianna starts talking to Aira. "So… you like it up here? In this boy's head?" she said, ruffling with my hair once again.

"Well… I will say it's pretty nice. Lot's of room to fly around, bunch of things to look at…" Aira started off.

"Mm hm." Vivianna agreed. "What about Cameron? What's your opinion on him?"

'I'm… I'm right here you know.' I thought to myself. Whether or not she heard me, I didn't know.

"W-well…" Aira started, very concious about me being right there. "I… I guess from what I've seen… you're a good person, strong, caring… forgiving."

"Hm hm!" Vivianna hummed. "So you think he's a nice guy, yes?"

"Umm… yeah?" Aira said, unsure of where this was going.

"I see…" Vivianna said slowly, rubbing her chin a little, all the while keeping her firm hold on me. "Then tell me something…"

Vivianna's tone suddenly changes out of nowhere. Now it's a more… protective tone maybe? That's what I thought it sounded like as she said, "Back at the desert, when you were fighting Cameron… were you really about to kiss him? And be honest."

Aira was taken back by this sudden tone change, as was I. "Ummmm…" Aira started, looking bright red in the face. "I… I… maybe…"

"Come on now. Be honest." Vivianna said again, staring right at Aira.

Aira looked back and forth between my face and Vivianna's. She softly sighed, before looking back up at us. When she spoke, there was barely any hesitation in her voice. "Y-yes… I would've."

Vivianna had a little bit of triumph in her eyes when I glanced back at her. This was getting a bit uncomfortable, talking about all this stuff. But Vivianna looked almost done talking. "I see. Well then…"

Her arms unwrapped themselves around me, her hands resting on my back. "Have fun!" she said quickly.

And then pushed me onto Aira.

"Wha-" I tried to speak before I smacked into Aira, knocking us both over.

"I-I'm sorry! Vivianna pushed me!" I said quickly. She didn't reply, she was still recovering from falling over.

I sat back up and turned around to say something to Vivianna, but when I looked, she wasn't there anymore. She simply had vanished.

"Vi… Vivianna?" I called out, not hearing Aira sit up behind me.

We… we were alone.

Of course, Vivianna was still here somewhere, but… I just couldn't see her right now.

"Did… did she just teleport or something?" Aira asked me a little nervously.

"Maybe. This is the dream world." I replied softly. "What… what did she mean by, 'Have fun'?"

"I…" Aira started, looking embarrassed. I glanced back at her to see that she was still blushing pretty deeply.

Before I could say anything more, Aira disappeared suddenly. Then it was just me. "Wait!" I had called out, but too late. She had already disappeared. "Aira? Vivianna?"

Then suddenly, I heard something directly behind me. I turned around just in time for Aira to gently hug me, her eyes closed tightly.

Before I could even question what the hell was going on, the scenery changed around us. Now we were on top of a mountain, looking out at a fake sunset. Aira's breathing was soft, right next to my ear.

"Wha…" I tried to start with, but she put a hand over my mouth, shushing me.

"Shhh… I… I just wanted to do this while I thank you again Cameron." Aira said softly, hugging me tighter.

I didn't say anything, partly because I was too confused to say anything and partly because she still had her hand over my mouth. When she thought I wouldn't say anything, she removed her hand and kept me in her embrace.

"Air… Aira, what are you…" I tried to start with once she pulled away a few seconds later.

"D-don't talk yet." Aira said, blushing deeply still. "I… I want to say something to you. Since its just me and you."

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I thought better of it and nodded. "Good… you'll listen." Aira sighed.

"Well… I just want to say… thank you for sparing me back there…" she started. "I… I can't say that enough."

I didn't say anything, but I guess she could read my thoughts through my eyes, because she smiled a little. "Hm hm hm… I know that you are confused right now, but… can I just say one more thing? Then I'll let you talk as much as you want."

I slowly nodded, wondering where this was going. If I wasn't so focused on what I wanted to ask her, I would've better registered the fact that she was looking right into my eyes, her arms moving to wrap around my neck and getting onto her knees to look into my eyes.

"C-Cameron…" she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"H-huh?" I asked, only now realizing what she was doing. But before I could react, she pulled me in closer and placed her lips on mine.

As if THAT wasn't already embarrassing enough, suddenly I saw Vivianna reappear right in front of me, smiling at my red face.

Ten seconds passed by before Aira finally pulled away. Her face could not have been any more red at that one moment.

"Hm hm hm…" Vivianna giggled, startling Aira a little. "So… how was it?"

Aira didn't break eye contact with me as she stated quite plainly, "It… it was nice… but… did, you know, you like it Cameron?"

Vivianna sat down next to Aira, also looking right at me. The twin stares made me a bit self-conscious.

"I… w-well…" I started, trying to round up all my thoughts. It wasn't easy, considering that they were staring right at me. "I… I won't deny that I did like it…"

"You did, hmmmmm?" Vivianna said, looking dead into my eyes, with a grin on her face. "You'd say that you'd love to do it again?"

At those words, Aira began trying to cover her face in embarrassment. "A-Aira?" I said softly, patting her on the back softly. She peeked around them to see me, a soft smile starting to play on my lips.

"T-there's… no reason to be embarrassed right now." I continued. Slowly, she removed her hands and gently looked into my eyes. Her arms wrap around me again, as she gets onto her knees.

Then I took over. Slowly, I laced my arms under hers and gently pulled her, and her small, adorably blushing face, to me. She looks startled for half a second before she accepts it, her breathing becoming a bit more deeper.

And then I give in and pull her as close as I could, and kiss her small lips. She stiffens for maybe two seconds before she fully relaxes, desperately trying to pull me even closer than we already are and never let go…

Then another warm object touches me. I knew it was Vivianna hugging both me and Aira once I heard her soft laugh right in my ear. "There… we're one big happy family now, aren't we?"

I would have agreed with her if I still wasn't trying to kiss Aira. Part of me wondered why I was even doing this. I barely knew about the girl. Then again, I had fallen for Vivianna before I knew much about her. Rather, she basically made me fall for her.

When I finally pulled away, five minutes had passed. I was panting a little bit, as was Aira. Vivianna was right there, smiling at us, more so at me than anything.

"Come on you two… let's talk today. Just talk. Get to know you things." Vivianna said softly. Aira looked at me nervously. I realized that I was still holding her tightly.

"Y… yeah. I want to know more about you Aira. So… let's chat." I told her just as softly as Vivianna. After a moment of hesitation, she, with immense dislike, let me go so we could move somewhere else. Guess now she felt a little protective of me.

The rest of the night was just the three of us, sitting down on a comfy bench looking out at the 'sunset'. We talked a lot about random things, like what we had done before we all had met each other.

Vivianna spoke to me in my mind earlier. She had said something about specifically avoiding talking about my past for now. Aira was already looking like a nervous wreck from what had happened before. The last thing I needed was to tell her about my awful past.

We both knew that we would have to tell her sooner or later. But for now, we wanted to keep it to ourselves until she was comfortable.

But for now, all we wanted to do was to just relax...

...

 **Annnd that's it! ButterHunter is back, baby! I got time back, so I should be posting a little more often now. Once February is over, then I'll REALLY have lots of time on my hands.**

 **Anyway guys and gals, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! So now Cameron has a wind spirit in his head, and he's already kissed her. It's a new record! What's next, I type something where he kisses a girl he just met? Who knows…**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your Minecraft username, what server, and when. And please don't forget about my personal survival server! Until next time guys, stay awesome.**


	30. Back to Normal Right?

**Hello all you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter! Nothing witty to say right here, so let's get right back in!**

Chapter 30: Back to Normal… Right?

 _Time skip to 10:00…_

'*huge yawn*... Oh man… where am I?'

I woke up feeling much more energized than when I passed out. My glasses weren't on my face, so I couldn't really see much of anything at the moment. Sunlight streamed in from the window in front of me. I tried to make out where my glasses were.

I slowly sat up, and saw the outline of my glasses on the small nightstand at the foot of my bed. I picked them up and put them on. I was in the sickbay, which… honestly didn't surprise me. I figured those two would be concerned about my health and safety when I passed out.

In any case, I felt where the bump on my head had been yesterday. Despite still being a little tender, I couldn't really make out a bump anymore, so that was a good sign, right?

I slowly stood up and put on a pair of slippers that were under the bed. Only until I got my shoes or boots on. Either or.

I trudged downstairs slowly, as to not make too much noise, but someone down there still heard me. The second I was on the bottom step, I turned and I saw a streak of white leaping right for me. The next thing I knew, I was on my back, getting kissed over and over on the cheek by a certain adorable puppy.

"Morning to you Snowy." I said, pushing myself back into a sitting position. She didn't respond right away, she only held me tightly to herself. I rubbed her head gently, somehow managing to get the two of us back to a standing position.

"Finally, the zombie wakes." a voice said. Of course, it was Susie. She was behind the counter, making her way over. The room was filled with the excellent smell of waffles and pancakes.

"Hey." I said softly, seeing her smiling warmly at me. She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I'll never get over how soft and warm she feels. 'No one better to fall in love with, huh?' I thought to myself.

" _Possibly. But we're still important to you, no?"_ Vivianna responded in my mind. I groaned inwardly, remembering that I had voices in my head.

'Yes, of course you two are. Morning you two.' I thought quickly.

Susie broke her hug from me, her smile faltering for a second. "Something wrong?" I asked her.

"Just… after breakfast, can I talk to you? Alone?" Susie replied softly. I instantly knew that whatever she wanted to talk about, it was serious.

"Yeah, of course. Just us?" I replied her her same tone. She nodded, before pulling herself away to go back behind the counter.

I turned to go sit down, but was met with another look. Right in front of me stood Andr. She was looking a little bit… ah, worried I guess? "H-hey… can… can we talk some time today? Just me and you?" she asked me quietly.

"Uh… of-of course." was my answer. She nodded quickly to herself, before walking away to take a seat at the counter.

'Ohhh kaaay?' I thought. 'What's that going to be about?'

No answers came to mind, so I simply moved over and took my normal spot at the counter, with Snowy soon following my example.

Breakfast was about as normal as it usually was. The only really difference was that everyone seemed… almost a little too quiet today. It was a very slight difference but it was still noticeable.

Once everything had been cleaned up a few minutes later, Susie gently took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom. She must have already told Snowy that she just wanted to be alone with me for a while, because Snowy didn't react to it.

Once Susie and I had closed and locked the door, and sat down on the bed, Susie took my hand and squeezed it.

"Cameron… I'm not going to question about why you ran out yesterday. I already figured that out. I'm also not going to question why you suddenly collapsed on the ground once you did come home." she started, looking directly into my eyes.

"What I AM going to question, is… even if it was for a good reason… why did you just run out and try to solve the problem yourself?" she asked me.

Somehow, the answer came to my mind immediately. "Because it was my sister. I'm not losing her again. If someone wants to fuck with my family, they're gonna have a problem with me." I answered, without a shadow of a doubt.

Susie blinked in surprise. Obviously she didn't expect how rapidly I came up with my response. "E-even so… that kind of acting isn't healthy. You looked battered up and weary when you came home. You know how worried that makes me? To see the person you treasure above all others suddenly pass out, and you have no idea as to why?"

"I never said it was smart to think like that." I rebutted. "I only know this: family comes first over everything. Wealth, power, inventions… all those things pale in comparison to my family. I've already lost them once. To lose a part that I just found again…"

I didn't finish my sentence. I don't think I really needed to. Susie sighed at me. "Well… at least if you're going to do stuff like that, please think about everyone else. If you really think that family is important…"

She scooted closer to me. Very close. Close enough that our faces were barely an inch apart. "Then please… talk to me. Talk to us. Aren't we, me and Snowy, a part of your family now? Aren't we?"

"Of… of course. I… I know that it was really boneheaded to just run out like that… but I couldn't help myself." I replied softly. "I'm sorry."

Susie didn't say anything, but she slowly wrapped me into a soft hug again. It may have just been my imagination, but… was Susie shaking in my arms? As if… she was afraid.

Just in case she really was shaking in fear over my safety, I gently tightened my grip on her. "Now now… I'm not going anywhere." I said softly, patting her back gently.

She was stiff for a second, before relaxing comfortably in my arms. For a long time, that's how we stayed. Just the two of us, like it had been before, simply hugging each other.

I never wanted to let go of her. No matter what else happens… Susie was always first. I'd never let anything bad happen to her.

Even if it made my life miserable.

…

 _Time skip to 5:00 pm…_

I was sitting down outside, just looking in no particular direction.

The day was bright. Not a single blocky cloud in sight. I often found myself wondering about that. How… humans looked normal, but monsters always looked blocky. Why the whole world was nothing but blocks and pixels.

Well… almost everything.

I heard a noise behind me, but I didn't need to look. It was Andr, and she had teleported behind me. Whether it was to scare me, or it just happened like that, well…

Actually… that brings up a good point. Does Andr… like to prank people? She hasn't so far, but…

No… I'd think she'd have tried to scare me by now. She's had plenty of opportunities by now.

That thought, however, was made invalid not even two seconds later. I blinked and then suddenly… she was right there. "Guess who?" she whispered huskily.

I jumped up in surprise, just barely able to keep myself from screaming. Thankfully, I recovered quickly. I glared at the endergirl busting a gut on the ground in front of me.

A few whole minutes passed before she finally got her laughing under control. "Hah… you're… expression… too… damn funny… hah…" she wheezed out.

"Ha ha ha. I'm dying of laughter over here." I replied sarcastically. "What the actual hell Andr?"

"Sorry… I couldn't resist." Andr replied, sitting down next to me. For a moment, she simply giggled to herself. I shook my head and looked back out at the landscape in front of me.

Seeing all the blank area around here… it made me feel… empty. Like… I really wanted to put something else here. Something impressive, something big.

Maybe…

"Cameron? Hello?" Andr said, waving a hand in front of my eyes. I blinked, then shook my head.

"S-sorry, just got lost in thought again. What… what is it?" I asked.

Andr's face became… crestfallen? "It's just… it's almost been a week."

"What do you…" I started, but immediately stopped. A week. Susie assessed that Andr would be back to normal in a week. Four days have already passed, assuming my memory served right.

"So… isn't that a good thing? I mean, you'll be able to teleport again, right?" I asked, but I already knew what she was sad about.

"No… it means that my stay here will be over. I'll… have to leave. Maybe it's for the best… I-I've been a burden for you three…"

"Andr, please, stop saying that!" I complained. She stuttered to a stop, caught off guard. "No matter how many times you say that, you're wrong."

"B-but… you three have had to waste your supplies on me. Give me f-food that I don't deserve. G-gave me shelter, when no one else would…"

"And that means?" I asked her. "Supplies can always come back, more food can be grown, shelter can always expand. Andr, you are not a waste of space. I don't know what kind of treatment you got over at your old homeland or whatever, but… not everything they said is true."

Andr was shaking a little bit. "B-but…"

"Come on Andr… stop trying to argue. You're important for something. Everyone, man or beast, is. So… please don't put yourself down. For me."

I grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it gently. Andr started blushing, but only a little bit. "C-Cam… Cameron…"

That was all she said before she quickly pulled me to her and started hugging me, close to breaking down. After a moment of hesitation, mostly due to surprise, I embraced her back.

We must have stayed like that for quite a long while. By the time Andr pulled away, the sun was starting to set in the sky.

"H-hey…" Andr started softly. I glanced over at her. She had a bigger blush on her face when she asked me, "Umm… c-can… can we do this again tomorrow? J-just me and you… talking?"

I nodded, to which Andr visibly relaxed at. "G-good… thank you."

Then, I remembered something. She had wanted to talk with me about something. "Hey Andr. You said you wanted to talk to me about something this morning. What was it?"

Andr blushed harder, and visibly began to perspire a little. "Ummm… I'll… I'll tell you later. I… can't remember."

And then she teleported back inside, leaving me all alone. 'Ohhhh kaaay? She obviously didn't forget about it. What was it?'

Whatever. I would find out soon enough, either by her telling me when she 'remembers' or by me being persistent enough.

With that thought in mind, I simply headed back inside, mostly because it was getting late.

 _Time skip to 7:00 pm…_

"*sigh*... so boring…"

What else could I say? Susie and Snowy were off upstairs doing Notch knows what, and Andr was in her room, reading. I knew that nothing short of an earthquake would shake her eyes out of her fantasy worlds. So for the time being, it was only me. And once again, there was no book that seemed interesting, too late to cook anything, and I wasn't ready to fall asleep yet.

Trying to think of something to do, I soon found myself sitting at the foot of my bed, concentrating.

" _Hmm… nothing fun to do right now?"_ Vivianna asked me.

'No kidding. I can't think of anything at all to do.' I responded.

Vivianna sighed gently, before I guess an idea came to mind. " _What's that book over there called?"_

'Eh?' I asked her. The book she was referring to was 'Steve: A Legacy.' It told all about a man named Steve, no duh, who was believed to be one of the first ever humans to survive in this harsh world. I believe it has a sequel to it, like, 'Alex: The Next Legacy.' or something like that.

'That Steve legacy one? Why do you ask?' I asked Vivianna, picking up the book. Nothing out of the ordinary in it. I sat back down on the bed as I flipped through the many pages. 'All it's about is the life of one guy named Steve. Why do you-'

But my thoughts were cut short when, out of nowhere, I looked up from the book to see Vivianna's face right in front of me. " _Boo."_ she said.

Now, keep in mind: Vivianna is not a scary person by any means. But even I had to jump a little in fear when she did that. Err… well, little is stretching the truth a bit. More like… a foot or two?

Anyway… once I recovered, I was met with different emotions: anger, surprise, and confusion, just to name a few. Vivianna was on the ground, holding onto her sides as she was laughing too hard.

'What… what the fuck Vivianna?! What the hell was that for?!' I yelled in my mind. It took a minute, but soon enough she managed to pick herself up off the floor so she could speak.

" _Sorry…"_ she said, not sounding very sorry. " _I couldn't resist. Besides, you ran out of things to do, right? I thought I'd spice up your situation."_

'There has to be a better way than straight up scaring me like that!' I told her. 'And how the hell can I see you right now? I'm still awake.'

Vivianna pouted a little. " _Don't you remember back when I first entered your head? I still have that power you know."_

'O-oh… right…' I thought, remembering about how Susie and Snowy had looked at me like I was losing it when Vivianna first entered my mind. 'Sorry, you just haven't done that in a while, so… it kinda just slipped my mind.'

Vivianna's image nodded. " _I guess you are right about that. It was a very long time ago… but now…"_

And then suddenly her arms wrap around me. Even if I couldn't feel them, it still felt like she was right there in front of me. " _How about I just whisper in your ear until you find something to do?"_

'Whisper… what?' I asked.

" _You'll see…"_ was all she said. If you couldn't guess, that made some goosebumps start forming. But something told me that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

And by that, I mean something _literally_ told me that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Rather, someone. Aira. " _Umm… I think no matter what you say, she's gonna do what she wants."_ she told me.

'I…' I started, trying to think of something to say. Of course, nothing came to mind. 'Al… alright. Go ahead, I guess. I better not regret this…'

" _Oh believe me. You won't…"_ Vivianna said, moving her face closer to my ear.

But before anything else could happen, a knock on the door was heard. "Cameron? Are you in here?"

Susie's voice. Vivianna looked almost disappointed that she came when she did. " _Another time then. Have fun with her Cameron. See you in your dreams."_ Vivianna told me.

With that, her image disappeared. "Susie? Come in." I called out.

She opened the door and stepped in, smiling warmly at me. "Hey. Just wanted to see you." she said, sitting down next to me.

"You see me literally every day." I commented, nevertheless scooting over and wrapping my arm around her.

"Even so, I still love being around you all the same." Susie said softly, hugging me around the middle.

"Aww… someone's a little clingy today." I cooed, rubbing her back. She held me a little tighter when I said that.

"Am not." she denied. "This is the normal amount of clinginess that I always have."

I chuckled. "Heh… whatever you said, miss Susie."

For a long time, at least five minutes, that's how we stayed. For a while, it felt like it was just us, being together like it had been.

"Heh… and to think…" I said a few moments later. Susie looked up, curious. "If I hadn't been out there in that desert when you were out walking… we would've never met. I almost didn't go in that desert that night. I was trying to decide on going in or waiting for the next day."

"Mmm… maybe it was fate who made you choose going into the desert." Susie offered. "That, or it was just another one of your brilliant ideas."

"Hey, I never said I was the brightest torch of the bunch."

"I know that already, dummy."

"Ouch. Your words wound me so!"

"Hahaha stop it, you're making me giggle!"

"Make me!"

I then proceeded to tickle Susie, much to her… uh, joy? Displeasure? I don't know what to call it. She tried to squirm away, but couldn't, as she was laughing too hard. That, and I pinned her down on the bed.

"Sto-ahahahah! Stop it! I can't- hahaha! I can't breathe!" she gasped out a minute later.

I granted her request this time. I stopped tickling her so that she could catch her breath. "Haha… hoo… that was… fun." she got out through her breathing.

"Yeah… you were laughing so hard, I think you snorted a couple of times." I teased. She blushed a little bit.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

We bantered for a while about who was right and stuff. Mainly, we just had some quality time by ourselves. Something that… was refreshing to me.

When we finally stopped arguing, I realized I was still pinning her to the bed. Yet… neither of us seemed to mind it. I closed my eyes for a second, just to get my thoughts in order.

"Cameron…" Susie said. I opened my eyes to find that Susie had wrapped her arms around my neck. She was looking directly into my eyes. I could only stare back as she slowly pulled me closer and closer.

The kiss that we shared started very soft. Very light. Susie kept pulling me closer and closer to her, which I was all too happy to do.

Pretty soon after that we were making out, tongues invading each others mouths. We both were moaning in happiness, wishing that we could never end this moment in time.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. This ended once we needed breathe. I rolled over, taking her with me, so then it was us two, lying on our sides, simply listening to each other's breath. I felt… like I could die happy right now.

"Cameron… I love these moments." Susie said softly. "Because… it can just be us two, like it had been. Not saying that anything after those times is bad or anything…"

"I… I know what you mean." I whispered back. "I kinda wish we could just… stay like this. As long as we want. Holding each other this closely… kissing constantly… cuddling closer and closer…"

"Hmm… someone has nice dreams." Susie giggled to me. "I want the same things. Maybe… maybe we can do that tomorrow. Just… a lazy day."

"Maybe. I don't know, I think there's things I have to do tomorrow." I said off-handedly.

"Even so…" Susie said, hugging me even tighter. "I still want you to be happy. I love you Cameron. From the bottom of my heart."

"I know." was all I said.

She kissed me again, though this one didn't involve the tongues. We stayed there for… Notch knows how long. Just softly kissing each other, without a care in the world. It… it would always be a time I looked forward to.

Then, out of nowhere, someone knocked on our door. We had to pull away, much to our displeasure. "Who's there?" Susie called out, sitting up.

"Me. Can I come in, or am I interrupting something?" Snowy's voice called out. But… there was something off with her tone. Something that I couldn't pin down exactly.

"Ah…" I said softly. "Sure, I guess. Come on in."

Don't get me wrong, I love Snowy just as much as I love Susie. But she really chose the worse time to ask to see us in here.

Anyway, the door creaked open, and in stepped a blushing Snowy.

Wait… blushing?

"H-hey… Master." she said, stuttering. She looked… dizzy.

"Snowy? Is something wrong?" I asked, getting concerned. I had already sat up when she opened the door, and now I was looking worriedly at her.

"M...Master…" Snowy said, falling over. I nearly stood up and ran over to her, but Susie stopped me, for some reason.

"Susie? What are you-"

"Shhh! Look!" Susie half-whispered, pointing at Snowy's form.

As if on cue, Snowy recovered, and began crawling on her knees over to the bed. "M-Mas… terrr…" she said, pawing at the bed.

'What the… what's wrong with her? What's wrong with my Snowy?!' I thought rapidly. But the answer would soon present itself to me.

Somehow Snowy managed to crawl onto the bed, and she weakly took my hand. "M-Masterrr… please… I want…"

"You want… what?" I asked. But Snowy was beyond answering me. She only seemed contented with burying her face in my chest.

"Fah… you smell so good… Master…" she said quietly. That one sentence slammed together all the pieces in my head.

"Oh no… it's happening again." I said quietly, my face paling. "I thought it would happen once and be done…"

"I did too… wait, if… did you two just… foreplay?" Susie asked me. I nodded quickly. "Notch damn it… no wonder she's still like this. It'll happen off and on repeatedly until… you do the 'actual' deed."

"So you're saying that either I do… 'that', or I just keep doing what I have been doing for-fucking-ever?!" I asked ludicrously.

"That's… about right… I think." Susie said, her face becoming deeper green. "So… what are you going to do? At best, doing foreplay again might last… another week or two? Maybe a little longer?"

"Ugh… why does this have to happen now…" I complained. Snowy was looking into my eyes, in almost a pleading look again.

"Master… please take me… take me away…" she mumbled. Any of her normal innocence was gone. I wanted to say that I couldn't at the moment because it was too early. But when I glanced at the clock, I saw that, of course, the time was 8:45. Of fucking course. Just when I would be about to hit the hay, Snowy's heat had to kick in again.

"I… I can't do that to her. Not yet at least. We're all still sixteen. That's… well, way too early to be going down 'that' path." I said weakly.

Susie nodded, albeit slowly. "Y-yeah… you're right of course… but still, are you really sure you want to go through doing… 'that' over and over until you become older? It's your choice, of course."

"I… I don't know…" I admitted. "Fuck… what am I going to do…"

I couldn't ignore this. Snowy… she'd be in pain if I don't answer her call. But… can I really psych myself up to do this over and over?

"Hold… hold on. I… I want to see something real quick. Snowy, come with me…" Susie said practically dragging Snowy out of the bedroom. So now it was just me.

'Fuck me… what the hell should I do…' I asked myself. But I really couldn't think of anyway to make this any easier for me.

" _Sorry Cameron, but I don't think I'm qualified to help you with this one. This is your choice, and a very real one at that."_ Vivianna told me quietly. " _But if I have to give you advice or something… then I suggest doing what you think is best, even if it's hard."_

'I… I know. Just…' I started, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Only Snowy stepped in, however.

"Where… where's Susie?" I asked, hoping that I would get a straight answer.

Snowy, though still looking dazed and out of it, heard me and tried her best to answer. "Umm… she… she let me… use this room… today. Felt like… you'd be more… comfy here, in the… bigger bed."

"O-oh…" I stuttered out. It didn't sound right, but then again Snowy was out of it right now, so maybe she didn't know what she was saying?

"M-Mas… Master… please…" Snowy said, flopping on the bed and crawling over to me, getting right in my face with her deeply blushing one. "Please… let me…"

That was all she said before her instincts took over. She kissed me deeply, wrapping her arms around me faster than I could keep up with. A moment of surprise later and I wrapped my arms around her as well, though much slower. She seemed to shudder a little bit from my touch.

When she finally parted from me, some of her came back to reality. "Uuu… Master… wh-when…"

"Shhh… it's okay. You… were acting up again." I told her softly. She looked confused for a second, but then she understood me. The blush became even deeper, and she shook a little bit in my arms.

"A-acting… up again? N-no… I thought…" she started.

"I did too. But… for it to really be over with… we'll have to wait. Myself, I'm nowhere near ready to do… 'those' things. Not yet at least. But… for now…"

I didn't finish my thoughts. Snowy understood what I meant perfectly. "S-so… should… should we…"

"Shhhh… quiet now…" I said softly, tightening my hold on her. "Give me a second. Let's… psych ourselves up right quick. Okay?"

Before she could respond, however, the door slowly opened, and Susie poked her head inside. "Is… is it safe still?" she asked.

"Y-yeah. If you need something… do it fast though." I replied. She nodded, stepping in and quickly moving to the bathroom.

Thankfully Susie's interruption gave us a real reason to wait at least. Snowy and I held each other, blushing deeply about… what we were about to do.

Uh… that could've been phrased a little better, but anyway…

The door to the bathroom slowly, ever so slowly, creaked open. Susie stepped out awkwardly, and looked at me. "I… I'll just go…" she said, moving to the door.

And locking it. "...ahead and join you two." she added.

And then jumped quickly on the bed with me and Snowy.

"Wha-" I tried to speak, but Snowy covered my mouth. Again.

"S-sorry Master… but I remember a little bit of what Susie said to me." Snowy said, now sporting a sultry tone. "And what little bit I remember… I really liked."

"I haven't had my share of fun in a long time now Cameron." Susie said to me, pushing me onto my back. "So I figured… let's just kill two birds with one stone."

"Mmm?" I got out. Somehow I still hadn't pieced together what these two were talking about. But once Susie slowly reached for the bottom of my shirt, that's when it clicked.

'No… No. She… she wouldn't dare.' I thought to myself.

She dared. In one quick movement, my shirt was balled up in her hands.

"You probably won't be needing this…" Susie said, tossing my shirt off to the side. "And you definitely won't be needing these…"

Her hands slowly danced their way over to my pants and belt. 'N-no no no no no!' I thought feverishly. 'I… I didn't prepare myself for this!'

"Master… don't be afraid." Snowy whispered to me gently. She must have seen my eyes get wide in fear from how direct they were being. "We can be as gentle as you want us to be… so let's just have some fun, okay?"

Obviously she ignored the fact that her words did very little, if anything, to help with my fear. But seeing that I couldn't get out of here, I guessed I had no choice but to play along.

"There you go… it's alright Master… I promise you'll feel really good." Snowy cooed to me, moving her face close to mine again. "You'd… you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Before I could do anything else, Susie came into view. Only she had taken off everything but her underwear yet again. "Okay Snowy, my turn." she said, replacing Snowy's hand over my mouth with her own.

"Hey there Cameron…" Susie said, getting close to my face. "How you feeling? I bet you've been waiting for a chance to do this again… well, here we are. Aren't you happy?"

She removed her hand and softly kissed me. Her hand gently squeezed my own hand, making me relax against my will. I heard in the background the faint sounds of someone undressing themselves…

And then Susie parted from my lips, placing her hand back over my mouth. And pulled away just in time for Snowy to come into view, in her underwear as well. "Mmm… white, Snowy?"

"Um… white is my… favorite color…" Snowy replied, but Susie only smiled.

"I'm joking. Now… how about we start the fun, eh?"

Snowy took one look at my face, which was still bright red, and leaned down to it. "Just… let me kiss him again. One more time…" she said softly, sounding a little out of it again.

Susie nodded, and released my mouth just as Snowy moved her face forward. The moment she kissed me, she quickly made the kiss passionate, practically paralyzing me. Snowy's hands ran up and down my sides, and she pulled herself closer and closer to me…

Then Susie came into what little view I had still. "Scoot over a little Snowy. I want in on this." she said, her eyes half-lidded. Snowy moved over a little bit, allowing Susie to jump in on this kiss as well.

I don't know how they managed to do it, but for quite a long while that's how the night started off. With those two kissing me at the same time, slowly turning me on… I will not lie: it was nice. I did like it a lot. But even if I wanted to do something about it, I couldn't have. They had me paralyzed. The most I could possibly do was kiss them back, but even that was a little weak. They didn't seem to care about that too much though.

Then they pulled away from me. I didn't want them to. I was enjoying it so much… I tried to pull them back to me.

"Oh? You liked that, did you?" Susie teased me. "But we're about to hit the main event. And I, for one, don't think…" she slowly filled my view, laying her soft, oh so soft body onto my exposed chest. "... that we can delay it any longer."

Her soft hand slowly reached downward to my boxers, which I didn't even know that they had exposed. I guess Susie had taken them off while Snowy distracted me or something.

"Ready, Snowy?" Susie asked, turning around one last time. Snowy looked into my eyes, and then nodded, an evil smile on her blushing face.

I could only think of one thing at that very moment.

'Welp… here it goes again. Two girls on top of me, half naked, and they're turned on as well. I'm so fucked… again.'

 **ButterHunter: award winning cockblocker of One Block at a Time, since 2015. (cheeky wink)**

 **Gotcha all again! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YEAH! Troll Cameron is back once again! Freddylane, please commence your rage filled comment once again! HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Whew… hah… so much fun… trolling my readers is fun… hah…**

 **Anyway, if you haven't figured it out yet, yes, the next chapter will be a lemon, once again. But not just any lemon! Now there are three people taking part in it! You all have been waiting for this, haven't you?**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. And please don't forget about my personal survival server! Ask me about that if you want to join it.**

 **Until next time, my dedicated readers, stay awesome.**


	31. Double Trouble

**HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD! The chapter is finally here!**

 **What is up my awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter, and I finally, FINALLY, have this chapter ready for you all to read!**

 **Let's get right back to the action!**

Chapter 31: Double Trouble

So…

I have to ask this… what was I supposed to do? I had two beautiful girls on top of me, half naked, and now they were looking at me expectantly. Should I have said something to them? Nodded? Done ANYTHING? I couldn't have known.

Susie and Snowy were watching my deeply blushing face, as I looked at them carefully. They looked even more sexy than normal, mostly due to the fact that they were wearing only their underwear. Both of them were reflected in the soft moonlight filtering in from the window next to us.

"I think he's ready for the show to begin now." Susie said, her sultry tone full blast by now. Snowy nodded, though slowly. She was probably very nervous about this, and for good reason.

Slowly, the two of them worked their way towards my boxers. I wished I could've said something but I couldn't. Not because they had my mouth covered or anything, but because I still didn't know what I should've been saying.

Susie pulled Snowy close, and whispered into her ear. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Snowy's face blushed even harder with every word. A few more seconds passed before they both nodded to each other, before looking at me.

"So Cameron…" Susie said slowly, seductively. "How about… we start like this…"

And slowly, very slowly, she fiddled with the straps of her bra. She moved so slowly, I had to fight the urge to just do it for her to get it over already.

But just before I got the whole view of Susie's chest again, out of nowhere Snowy's red face appeared in my vision. Instantly she kissed me again, effectively blocking my line of sight from Susie entirely.

I heard a bit of shifting from where Susie was, and her hands slowly gripped mine. I didn't try to resist, mostly because I was slowly starting to warm up to this again.

Soon enough, I felt my hands drift along Snowy's lower back, making their way up. I couldn't change course even if I wanted to. Susie had my arms by the wrist, so there was no way I could try to break her grip.

Snowy, on the other hand, was starting to get a bit more frenzied. Her tongue had already entered my mouth by now, but now she was getting even more lewd. She started to add loud, sucking sounds with each breath, and even louder slurping sounds when she moved her tongue around. Her face may have been bright red at the time, but there was no mistaking the fact that she was becoming less and less scared by the second.

By now Susie had moved my hands right to Snowy's bra strap. She forced my fingers to curl around them, having me hold them for a few seconds longer, and then pulling the hooks apart swiftly.

Snowy let out a very, very small moan at that, but she continued to kiss me, getting louder and louder with each passing moment. I felt the small bra being pulled out from between us by Susie.

Finally, Snowy pulled away, gasping for breath. My eyes almost instinctively glanced downward, but Snowy was still clinging to me tightly, so I couldn't see anything. Yet.

"Haah… M-Master…" she moaned out, pleading with me to do something. "P-please… take me away… please…"

She quickly kissed me again, but then I felt something. Something was rubbing against me, going down to my legs.

'Ohh… shiiiit…' I thought to myself. What else could it have been?

Susie was taking off Snowy's panties.

And knowing Susie, she had most likely done the same to herself. So now… I was the only one wearing anything at all, a feeble pair of boxers.

And I don't think either of them liked that very much.

"Mmm… Snowy." Susie whispered to us. "I think… it's time we give him a really good time."

Snowy finally pulled away from my lips. 'Why must her face be so Notch damn cute when she's embarrassed?!' I thought to myself. If the situation had been any different than what we were about to do, I would have spoiled that girl rotten all day.

But of course… we were about to have some fun. More so them, then me, I think. After all, I could only do so much, being one guy.

"T-together?" Snowy said gently, her hand drifting around my boxers.

"I think that should do." Susie said softly.

"Wait, wha-" I started, but then, they pulled down.

And thus, began our fun times.

 **Warning! There's a lemon ahead! Or a lime, depending on who you ask. Lemon, lime, either or. Cameron's fucked either way.**

Without any more for a warning, my cock was exposed. My face started burning a little bit, but that was to be expected, right?

"You first, Snowy?" Susie said, her voice coming from my left. She wasn't directly in my view, so I couldn't see her very well. I could plainly see, however, that she was indeed in her birthday suit.

"M-me?! Are… are you sure, Mistress?" Snowy asked, almost not daring to believe it. "You… you don't want to do it first?"

"Nah. You have your fun first. I can wait a little longer." Susie replied, saying the last bit closer and deeper to my ear.

Slowly, Snowy slid fully into my view. She was so adorable, even with her boobs showing and her… ahem, already wet pussy out. "M-Master… um…"

She looked like she wanted to say something, but simply gave up and instead just looked into my eyes pleadingly. Swiftly, her hands locked themselves on my shoulders as she pushed.

Next thing I knew, I'm on my back, and Snowy's looking directly at my dick again. By now, I've already become rock hard in anticipation.

'Wonder how this is going to go down. I highly doubt she'll try the same thing as before.' I thought.

"M-Master… I… I want you to be happy… to feel good…" Snowy gets out. She's right over me, so I had the best seat in the house, if you catch my meaning.

"I… I do to Snowy." I said, speaking truthfully. "I… I want you to feel good as well."

"Then… let me…" Snowy said, a cheeky grin forming on her face. Suddenly, she twisted her body around, putting us in the sixty-nine position.

'Ooooh fuuuuck…' was all that I could think. I mean, how could I NOT think that? Snowy's entrance was RIGHT THERE. Is there anything ELSE that could've been thought at that time?

"Ooh, getting a bit cheeky there, Snowy. I like it." Susie said. I had a little bit clearer view of her by now, and… dear Notch, were they that big before?

Snowy didn't respond. Instead, she carefully looked at my dick, thinking about how to start, I guess.

I already knew what I was going to do. Carefully, as to not hurt her, I ran my fingers along the lips of Snowy's pussy, already liking the soft, adorable moan she let out. Soon enough I found her clitoris, which drove her into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, by the time I found that, Snowy had started to gently caress my cock, while also gently licking the tip every now and then. I grunted slightly as her rough, wet tongue touched my sensitive spot every now and then.

Soon enough I couldn't take it. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her lower half down. Once it got close enough, I gently licked at her wet womanhood.

Snowy's back instinctively arched back in pleasure. The pleasure was clearly taking over her body. What little bit of her face I could see, it was twisted into one of complete pleasure.

That's when she brought her face down onto my hard shaft, encasing my manhood in one fell swoop. The feeling of Snowy's mouth, her tongue licking everywhere around my dick, and the taste of her love fluids were all making this unbearable.

Only a minute later, I could tell that Snowy was close, as was I. Determined to finish the job, I continued licking her pussy as much as I could. She also seemed to want to finish what she started too, as she suddenly increased in her licking and sucking on me.

With a muffled moan, Snowy let go. Her vulva leaked heavily, which I did my best to clean up. I'm fairly sure that if she didn't have a dick in her mouth, she would have screamed with pleasure. At the same time, I moaned as I blew my load right into Snowy. Thankfully, she was ready for it and had pulled her mouth away until only my tip was still in. She eagerly caught everything I gave out, though some still somehow managed to end up on her face.

With a tired sigh, Snowy collapsed on top of me, shaking slightly in her happiness. I gently turned her back around, and helped clean off her face with my thumb. She licked it all off, then gently wrapped her arms around me again.

"M… Mas… Master… that was…" Snowy managed, her face blissful.

I didn't say anything. I only rubbed her head as she became too tired to continue. With a sigh of happiness, she rolled off of me and passed out.

I would have too, if not for a certain mischievous slime who had been rather quiet until now. "My my… she certainly looked like she had fun. But you're not out of the woods just yet, my love."

Without waiting for a response, Susie kissed me, carefully laying on top of me in such a way that I wouldn't accidentally penetrate her. Not yet. Later, maybe. But certainly not now.

While Susie kissed me, she ran her hand all over my torso, toying with me for a moment. I shivered, not out of being cold, but rather out of anticipation for what was to come. When she finally pulled away from my lips, I was practically quivering in excitement.

"Hmm… it's been sooo long since we've had our time together. I'll need to make this count…" Susie mulled over to herself. She seemed to consider several possible scenarios, until she found one that she seemed to like best.

"Simple, yet effective." was all that she said before she crawled over on her hands and knees to my crotch, all the while making sure to show off her slit and beautiful butt.

She grinned cheekily at my rod, which was still very hard. She grabbed it gently and gave me a short handjob, which only made me harder and harder. My shaft was still slightly wet from Snowy practically swallowing it whole before, but her hand clears it all of quickly.

"And now, the real deal…" Susie said, eyes half-lidded. Her tits wobbled back and forth as she stretched gently, then got down to eye level with my cock.

And then leans forward, gently licking my dick. The second the warmth hits, I instinctively flinch, then softly moan.

Up, down, left, right, all around, tip, base… she licks everywhere she can, but especially around my tip. 'Gee, I wonder why?' I found myself sarcastically thinking at one point.

Anyway, while she was doing that, she turned around and gave me a really, really good twat shot. Course, I didn't just let her do everything. I did pretty much the only thing I could really think of, which was grabbing that ass and squeezing. She moaned loudly, but not as loud as I could've made her if she was closer.

Two minutes of this later and I couldn't take it anymore. "S-Susie… I'm a-about to… c-come…" I managed, feeling the sensation of something rising in my crotch. A few more seconds and I lose control. I moan as I blow my load right into Susie's waiting mouth, feeling the afterglow of my orgasm.

 **End of lemon/lime/whatever the hell you want to call it.**

My vision was becoming blurry. This had all taken a really big toll out of me, and I needed rest.

Just before I passed out, however, I managed to get a nice look at Susie smiling face right above me, as if me passing out was the best joke she'd ever heard. "There there… sleep well, my love. Tell Vivianna I said hi…"

That's all I remember before I passed out.

 _Time skip to midnight…_

I opened my eyes again to find that I was back in the dream world. Vivianna was looking right at me happily, but Aira… damn, I almost forgot she was here. She was trying to look away and look at me at the same time. Her face was bright red, which didn't take a genius to figure out what it was from.

"She… she saw that, huh?" I asked Vivianna.

"Surprisingly, no." Vivianna told me. "She was too embarrassed to watch that, so she tuned it out and left me alone."

"Then why…?" I started to ask, before seeing Vivianna's smile become bigger. "Please don't tell me you teased her…"

"So… much… teasing…" Aira said, hiding behind me. "H-hold me…"

"Aww, poor baby…" Vivianna said, taking a step towards me, causing Aira to cower behind me more. "Don't be like that. You'll have to learn that if you're staying with us… right, Cameron?"

"Uhhh… I don't want to be the guy stuck in the middle so…" I started, but was interrupted when Vivianna suddenly grabbed me, pulled me away from Aira, and squeezed me tightly in a hug. "Wha- MMPH!" I got out before she covered my mouth gently.

"Come over here, Aira." she said, beckoning the wind spirit over. Aira shook her head. "Come on, you're not afraid of little ol' me, are you?"

Slowly, Aira took small, careful steps over to me and Vivianna. Was… was she shaking? How badly did Vivianna tease her?

"Shh… it's okay. Come here…" Vivianna said. She gently and softly grabbed Aira's hand, and pulled her over into the same hug I was in. Aira struggled a little bit, before seeing that I was right there. And realized that we had all night to be together.

Aira squirmed a little bit more, before trying to get closer to me. I wanted to talk to her, but Vivianna still had her hand over my mouth, so that plan was busted.

"C-Cameron…" she said softly, by now our faces two inches apart from each other. Her face was still a bright, burning red, but she never broke eye contact with me.

When Vivianna squeezed us again, that's when I realized that her hand had uncovered my mouth. So that was her plan. She'd get me trapped, then bring Aira into the same hug just so that I could calm Aira down a little.

I tried to move my arms so I could hug Aira, but Vivianna still had my arms locked in place. Aira seemed to be having the same problems, but then we both realized again how close we were.

I gently scooted closer, or at least as much as I could get. Aira looked a little surprised, but at least she wasn't shaking anymore.

"It's… it's okay, Aira…" I said softly, slowly moving my face closer to her's. She closes her eyes just before our lips connect.

As soon as that happened, Vivianna loosened her grip on us enough to let me use my arms again. I gently wrapped mine around Aira, just as she did the same to me. For a long time, it was just us together, hugging and kissing away without a care in the world.

Then she pulls away gently, much to my displeasure. "C-Cam… Cameron… um… I…"

I looked at her in a way that said 'Yeah? Spit it out.'

She looked back up at Vivianna again, who was smiling down on us. "Uh… um, I… ah…" Aira tried again, but knew that she wasn't getting anywhere like this.

She tried to pull me again to her, but Vivianna's arms didn't let us get very far. "Mm? What are you… oh, wait a second…" Vivianna started, but then thought of something.

The two must have proceeded to have a silent conversation, because neither of them broke eye contact with the other, nor said anything for quite some time. Honestly, I was starting to get impatient.

Then Vivianna grinned again. "Very well. I'll do that… for tonight. Only for you, Aira."

"Huh? What are you…" I started, but then Vivianna suddenly vanished, leaving me and Aira sitting on the ground alone.

"I don't…" I tried again, but then Aira shushed me and squeezed me as tight as she could. After a second of hesitation I hugged her back. She had a really slender body. It almost felt like I would hurt her if I huggd her too hard.

Suddenly, she pushed forward and puts me on my back, looking down at me with her tender cream-colored eyes. As if on cue, a soft breeze blew by us, making her blonde hair sway gently.

And then the scenery changed again. Now the breeze made more sense. I was lying down in a large, grassy plain. Close by appeared to be a blanket with a little basket set up, with a few empty water bottles next to it as well.

I could really imagine that me and Aira were outside, having a picnic and decided to play a game, maybe tag or something. And Aira had just playfully tackled me to the ground, now looking right at me, embarrassed.

"I… I just wanted to have you for myself tonight. Is… is that okay? Sh-should I call Vivi back?" Aira asked me, stuttering a little bit.

In response, I tighten my grip a little bit more on her. "It… It's fine, Aira. There's nothing wrong it getting a little clingy every now and then. And… maybe Vivianna's trying to make it up to you, letting you have me tonight."

Aira's shoulders loosened up a little bit. "O… okay… if you say so…"

For a few more seconds, she stays where she is, pinning me down. Her face slowly loses the heavy blush as the seconds tick away. Slowly, she's… she's becoming used to me again.

"Oh to hell with it. Cameron, I… I love you." Aira suddenly said without a care in the world. She lowers herself and kisses me so fast, I didn't have anytime to react to it.

What she had just been has now done a complete one-eighty. Her kiss is much deeper than any other she's given me thus far. I can't keep up the pace with this sudden change. 'Wha… what is happening?' I asked myself.

Aira pulls me back into a sitting position, still kissing me as much as she can. The wind gently swirls around us. I'm trying my hardest to come back…

And then she pulls away, gasping for breath. For a few moments, all she does is gently pant with her head down. The wind blows a tiny bit harder with each breath.

Aira looks back up at me… and hugs me again, resting her head on my chest, sighing in content. I'm still trying to gather my senses about what the hell just happened.

"C-Cameron… I love you so much…" Aira says, breathing softly.

"W-what… what just happened… you…" I tried to start.

Aira looked up at me, confused. "What do you…"

Then something clicked. "Oh I see. I surprised you, didn't I?"

"Y-yeah… you, like, just changed into a different person. Wait… is that normal for you?" I asked.

"I'm the wind. Wind changes in an instant if needed." Aira said softly, getting eye level with me. The light from the sun is shining down on us, making me feel warm…

And Aira starts kissing me again. Though this time, it's much slower, much easier to stay with. Her arms wrap around me tightly, and her wings expand out, so I have to hug her around the neck.

Slowly, her wings flutter, until I suddenly felt myself leaving the ground. But I don't worry. Aira's grip is so tight around me, I didn't feel any danger of falling. Besides, it's the dream world after all. A fall wouldn't really mean anything to me. Might give me a slight heart attack, but that's all.

My shirt and pants flapped in the wind swirling around us. Slowly, I felt a lot of wind hitting me. Aira slowly increased the pressure of our kiss. We kept rising in this field we've dreamed of.

And then we reach the height of the clouds. That's where Aira gently pulls away, though it's obvious she doesn't want to. I stared deeply into her eyes as she stared into mine.

I felt myself sitting down. I looked down slightly and realized we were literally sitting on one of the clouds.

"Huh. Guess this is what it means to have your head up in the clouds." I said. Aira couldn't help but giggle. It was high pitched, just like her voice, which made it all the more cuter.

Slowly, I start up the kiss again, nice and slow. She happily joins me on it, sitting on my lap so she can hug me better. I hum a little, and she hums back.

I just wanted to hold her forever in this embrace.

And I could easily tell she wanted that as well.

So… without realizing it… we made a deal that night.

A deal… to never let go.

Never.

 _The next morning, at 9:30 am…_

Once again, I felt myself slowly being forced awake by the morning sun. I try to sit up, but I felt myself getting held back. Looking down, both Susie and Snowy, covered by the blanket, had an arm across my chest, gently holding my shoulders.

They looked… blissful. I couldn't help but slime as they sleep.

And then I remember none of us had clothes on. Again.

"Welp… guess it's back to the normal tradition." I said softly, working out of their arms and getting dressed with a hoodie and jeans. I then went out to the kitchen and, like normal on days like this, started breakfast.

This time it only took a little while to make, just half an hour. Susie and Snowy hadn't gotten up yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

But something felt off. Andr… she always was an early riser. Surely she should've come down for breakfast by now, especially since it, to me at least, smelt really good right now.

So leaving a note if the others woke up before I got back, I headed up stairs and made my way to Andr's guest room.

But when I got there… it was empty. The bed was neatly made, the floor was tidy, the window was slightly open, the bookshelf was…

Wait, open window? Andr almost always kept that closed. Said she didn't care much for wind blowing all over her room. I looked out of it all over, but I couldn't see anything.

Then I heard something above me, like a soft breath. I looked up, and was met with a pair of legs five blocks above. I almost called her out, but I didn't want to scare her like that.

So instead, I went back to the main floor, and carefully went outside, making sure not to make any noise. I made it to the other end of the house and, with a little help from Aira, rose up and gently touched down on the roof.

Andr's back was turned as I approached. I sat down a few blocks away from here, not saying anything. She seemed to be deep in thought, because her eyes were closed.

I breathed in the fresh air. I had a great view of the landscape in front of me. No wonder Andr was up here. This did seem like a great spot to do some serious thinking.

I sighed a little in content, glancing over the smallest bit. "This is a really beautiful view." I said.

Andr heard me. She looked over and was completely taken off guard. "C-Cameron?" she asked, blushing and

"Mm?" I said, looking over. Andr was blushing quite a bit, but I was used to it by now.

"H-how did you get up here? I… I had to teleport." Andr questioned.

"I have my ways, dear Andr." I said, being vague on purpose. "Ways that you probably wouldn't believe if I said them."

Andr didn't look happy about that answer, but I guess she didn't want to keep dwelling on it. She looked back out at the field in front of us, probably watching me out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey… C-Cameron? Can… can I say you something?" Andr asked, looking down at her feet.

"I… I guess. If you want to. Quickly though, breakfast is ready." I said. I wondered what she wanted to talk to me about. She sighed a little bit, almost as if she's trying to steel herself. Suddenly, she scoots forward to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Uh… Andr?" I asked.

She chose to ignore me. Her hands come around to my sides, and then she's got me in a hug. She squeezes me a tiny bit, just enough so that it feels… comfortable.

"C-Cameron… thank you." she whispers softly into my ear. "For… for letting me stay… even when I was stubborn…"

"Andr…"

"I… I've never met someone… as kind, or as caring as… you. Someone like you… is really special to me." Andr continued, pulling away just a little bit. "So… I just want to say… that if you need anything, anything at all… I'd be happy to help. Is… that okay?"

"A-Andr… that's…" I started, blushing a little myself.

I guess she could already see my answer in my eyes. Even with her light purple blush, it was still plain to see that she was really happy. She pulls us back into another tight, warm hug, and this time I embrace her back.

The wind gently blew around us, warm and comforting. I sighed a little in happiness at this little hug. I was really happy, and Andr must have felt the same way. Slowly but surely she tightens her grip on me, as if she's determined to never let me go.

As much as I hate to do it, I have to pull away from her. "Come on. Let's go downstairs and eat breakfast. I'm starving." I say, my stomach growling a bit to emphasize this.

Andr doesn't look happy about that, but she must have been hungry as well, because she allowed me to get out of her grip and stand up. I held my hand out for her, and she takes it, starting to stand.

But just then… she somehow slips a little getting up. She grabs me for support, but that backfires badly when we both lose our balance and fall off the edge of the house.

Andr's screaming, holding me tightly as the ground rapidly approaches. Her eyes shut just as we were about to hit…

But the impact never came. Cautiously, she opened her eyes to see herself a literal inch away from the ground. And me, with my eyes glowing and holding her as close as I could. The wind was blowing all around us, keeping us aloft. "Hah… hah… that almost sucked." I managed.

I set Andr down gently and then sat down myself. 'Thank you Aira. You saved us.' I thought.

" _I didn't do anything. I simply gave you the power to control winds. You saved yourself and Andr."_ Aira said to me.

I opened my eyes again, to see… Andr, staring at me fearfully, her face paler than milk. "C-C-Cameron… wh-what… did you just do?"

"I…" I started, just know realizing that I never told any of the girls about Aira yet. Hell, I never even told Andr about Vivianna. It just didn't see that important at the time.

"I… I used wind magic." I said. "I… well, it's… a long story."

Andr kept staring at me, unblinking.

"I… I was going to tell you sooner or later, but… I never came around to it."

Still nothing on her end.

"Andr, I swear on my life that I was going to tell you this. Hell, I haven't even told the other two about the wind magic. They know about my water magic, but…"

And then I slapped my big fat mouth shut. 'Oh fuck me.' I thought.

If Andr's face could get any paler, it did then. "Y-y-y-you… you have… m-m-magic?!"

"Look, calm down!" I said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She backs up in fear. "Andr, look, I promise you that nothing about me is different! I… I just have some really cool magic abilities."

Clearly I was doing nothing but scaring Andr. I needed some way to get out of this. I ran over to the front door and heaved it open, not looking back at Andr as I stepped in.

And right there was Susie and Snowy, eating breakfast. They both looked back in surprise at me. "Cameron? Didn't your note say you were upstairs?"

I took a deep breath, and decided that I should get this out of the way now. "I was. Look… there's something I should've told you guys."

 _Five minutes later…_

I just love house meetings. Very peaceful they are, what with a fire in the background, sunlight shining through the window and me talking about my newfound ability to fly and stuff. Very peaceful.

Somehow we managed to get Andr inside and willing to hear me out, but it still looked like she'd teleport away at a moment's notice. I told the three girls the whole story: me and Zach heading to find my sister. Me going alone to the desert against Vivianna's wishes. Me fighting Aira. Me allowing her to do what Vivianna is doing: helping me.

Of course, they didn't believe me at first. Only Andr really knew that the wind control I had was true. I realized the only way to get them to totally believe me was to actually show them. Which I did, in the form of rising into the air about two blocks, easily heading to the other end of the room, and land gently back on my feet.

Susie and Snowy looked at me with wide eyes. I could understand what they were thinking: 'We just got used to Vivianna in his head, and now there's this?!'

"I didn't want to at first." I said, sitting down in one of the kitchen counter tables. "Vivianna convinced me to."

Susie sighed a little bit, before coming up to me and holding my shoulder. She shook her head a little, and said, "I… *sigh*... what am I going to do with you… you idiot."

I could tell she was just messing around. "Yeah, well, I'm _your_ idiot. Yours and Snowy's. You should know that by now."

"I should." Susie agreed. "But it still gets me every time."

I closed my eyes and sighed a little bit, before hearing another voice.

" _Hey, Cameron."_ Vivianna said to me, with… was that a bit of teasing in her tone? " _She doesn't want to say it, but Aira would like to say hello to the girls if that's okay."_

" _Vivi! Don't spill my secrets like that!"_ Aira called out. " _But… I kinda do want to say something. Just to make sure they believe I'm up here."_

'Well…' I started, thinking about this carefully. 'I'll have to ask them first. I don't want them to freak out when I start speaking like a girl.'

" _Fair enough."_ both Vivianna and Aira agreed.

"Hey… you girls." I said, keeping my eyes closed. "I think the wind spirit has something it would like to say to you. You okay with that?"

Weird question, I know, but I couldn't really think of any other way to ask it. How else could I really ask a question like that? Uh, hello there. The voice in my head wants to talk to you guys for a minute. I'll still look like this, but you'll hear her voice and everything. Capisce?

In any event, both Susie and Snowy were okay with it, I guess. Andr… well, she was still back there trying to not to look at me as far as I knew.

So I gave Aira the go ahead. Once again, I lost feeling everywhere and simply relaxed. Though this time, instead of me feeling calm everywhere, I felt peppy. Full of energy. Guess that was to be expected of Aira.

" _Oh boy. This should be good, eh?"_ Vivianna said to me.

'I'll bet. I seriously hope Andr doesn't completely freak out on me and just leaves now… I was hoping we could still get along, y'know?' I thought.

A sigh escaped me. Though of course, it was Aira's sigh. Guess she was still trying to psych herself up or something. "Man… this is… new." she said through me. My eyes opened to see Susie still right next to me, Snowy looking on in curiosity, and Andr… well, still being Andr, I guess.

If I had to take a guess, I'd assume my eyes changed color again to a light cream. Judging from the change in expression from Snowy to surprise for just the briefest of seconds.

"Umm… hi there… I… I'm Aira." Aira said through me.

'Oh god this is so weird…' I thought.

" _Really? I thought you'd have been used to it by now."_ Vivianna said to me.

'This has only happened one time. And anyway, there's no really way to prepare yourself for a girl's voice to come out of your own mouth. As a guy, that's really hard to think about.' I reminded her.

" _You have a point. Perhaps we should try this more often."_ Vivianna suggested.

As I talked with Vivianna over that, Aira continued to talk to the other girls. I didn't pick up much, but from what I could tell she was mostly going on about what I had already said and stuff.

"Um, so… I don't want to hurt Cameron in any way. Or you girls. You… I could never hurt you." Aira wrapped up.

Susie sighed, and shook her head a little, before saying, "Again. It's so weird to hear another voice coming from Cameron…"

Aira giggled a little bit. "Don't even get me started on that. Anyway… I think I said my piece. But… one more thing."

She looked over at Andr, who was now really trying hard to not look at me. "Don't… don't be hard on Cameron, okay? He did what he had to. Sure, it scared you, but… what's life without a little scares and risks, eh?"

Andr made the smallest glance over at me. Her look was slowly softening against her will.

"Well… talk to you girls later, I guess. Bye-bye!" Aira said, before she closed my eyes. Quickly, I felt control come back to my body.

I opened my eyes again, and looked directly at Andr. She was slowly looking at me more and more again, as if my gaze was a magnetic pull.

Then a whisper came into my ear. "Cameron… I got an idea to get her back to normal." Susie said.

She quickly whispered her idea. Though I argued a little bit, I will not lie: not a bad plan.

I stood up, and slowly made my way over to Andr. Seeing me get close, she tried to shy away again. But I knew her better than that. If she really didn't want me to get close, she'd have teleported away by now.

"Andr… it's okay. I… I know you're still scared of me. Probably now more than ever…" I said softly.

"But…" I took one of her hands. She tried to pull it back, but it was a rather weak attempt. "I don't want you to think of me as scary. Please… calm down. For me?"

I waited. I was willing to be patient. I'd wait as long as it took. Until she would answer me. Even if it meant I'd have to stand there all day, I'd do it.

Slowly, she looks at me again. Her face is half tucked into her jacket, but her eyes… they looked hopeful.

So I squeezed her hand. She glanced away for maybe a half second, before she looked back. I could start to see a faint purple blush appear on what little of her face I could see.

Five minutes passed, until finally, she removed her face from her jacket and nodded, though rather slowly. But she never saw what was coming.

The second she stopped moving her head, I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed her cheek. It barely lasted a second long, but Andr instantly became flushed. And let me just say, nothing had ever made Andr blush harder than that. Nothing.

She stared at me for maybe five seconds before she started mumbling random nonsense, her eyes darting around frantically. Then she teleported away, to her room is what I guessed. And it would seem that I was right, because I could hear the sound of someone flopping onto a bed just upstairs.

I turned back to Susie. "You really think that that was right? To just embarrass her like that? Sure, it was funny to see her reaction, but still…"

"Did you have any better ideas for her to trust you again?" Susie countered. She got me on that one. "Besides, she obviously liked it."

"How could you tell? I couldn't see much other than raw embarrassment." I asked.

Snowy cleared her throat, then just said, "We women just know these things."

"Ugh… don't start that with me. I've already read enough stories that have that line." I moaned. Snowy giggled a little bit at that.

"Well then, Master…" she continued, standing up. "There's one more thing I'd like to know."

"Mm? What's that?" I asked.

"When can I finish my breakfast?"

 **Holy Notch! FINALLY! This chapter took far, FAR too long to get out! Almost two fucking months! I am so sorry, to you readers that like this story. I've been caught up between working at an amusement park and school, as well as trying to find time to play games.**

 **I know that this chapter was LONG overdue, and I'm sorry about that. I will personally make it up to you guys. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but as soon as the moment is opportune. Will that make everything better?**

 ***watches as half of you grab military grade weapons, and the other half grab torches, maces, pitchforks, and other assorted melee weapons***

 **Hey, hey, hey! Put those down! Think about this! Shooting or stabbing me will not make me get chapters out any faster!**

 **At the very least, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter now that it's finally out! I'm again so sorry about the time it took to get this chapter out. It's was a bit longer than normal, so I hope that makes up for it at least a little bit.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your ingame username, what server and when. And please never forget about my personal survival server! As always guys, I'll be back with another chapter. Until next time guys, stay awesome.**


	32. Shyness Only Makes You Cuter

***sigh*...**

 **And here I thought I would get this out earlier.**

 **I'll talk more at the end. For now…**

 **I'm sorry that this took this long.**

 **Here's the long, LONG overdue chapter you've wanted. Again, I'll talk about why I've been gone at the end. See you then.**

Chapter 32: Shyness Only Makes You Cuter

 _Andr POV…_

"Haah… my face… I'm burning up…"

That was what I weakly said to myself as I flopped onto my bed. How else could I react? Cameron… he just _kissed_ me! Even if it was on the cheek… he KISSED me! How else is an endergirl supposed to react?!

And the worst part was… I liked it.

Well, not the worst. More like… best?

"Gah, get a grip on yourself!" I said aloud to myself. I wasn't speaking very loudly though. The last thing I wanted was for them, especially Cameron, to hear me right now.

I simply laid on my bed, letting my face burn as I gently touched the place where he kissed me. I… if I hadn't been so flustered… I don't know what I would've done. What SHOULD I have done?

Then, five minutes later, a knock rang out on my door. "W-w-who's there?" I called out, stuttering.

"Umm… me?" the voice of Snowy spoke out. "I have something for you."

"O-oh… is… is Cameron there?"

"No, he's still downstairs, cleaning up. I would be helping but… like I said, I have something for you. Can I come in?" Snowy responded.

"O-oh… y-yeah, come in." I muttered loud enough for her to hear. Honestly, I kinda wished to be left alone, but… hey, maybe some company would be good for me.

Anyway, the door slowly creaked open, and in walked Snowy with… a plate of food? "Um… Master said that you didn't eat any breakfast, so… I brought you some. Is that okay?"

"Uh… sure, Snowy." I said, taking the plate from her. She kinda watched me for a second, before I asked her, "Uh… do you want to sit?"

Without saying a word, Snowy sat down in front of me, still watching me with those big eyes. Those eyes… they were one of the reasons I liked her. I mean, how could I NOT stare into those adorable eyes?

I slowly ate my eggs and biscuit, still thinking about Cameron. Snowy looked directly at my bacon with longing in her eyes. Without a word, I held a piece out for her, and she took it. Though, rather than tearing into it, like I thought she would she… gently nibbled at it, as though she was thinking hard about something. You almost never see Snowy eat bacon that slowly.

No, scratch that. You almost never see her eat ANY meat that slowly.

'Whatever she's thinking about, it must be distracting…' I thought as I munched.

Finally, everything was gone from my plate. A good ten minutes had passed since Snowy came in, but… she still somehow only was just now finishing that same bacon piece I gave her. 'What is she thinking? Is it really THAT distracting?'

Then she throws this at me:

"Do… do you like my Master?"

The question hit me like a wall. I blinked once or twice, before a light blush came to my cheeks. "I-I…"

"A-Andr… please, don't be like that." Snowy said, putting the plate behind her on the chest at the end of the bed and touching my hand. I tried to pull away in surprise but she grabbed it and held it close to her. "Please… say the truth. For… for me?"

And that's when it hit me: she's using her Puppy Dog eyes again. Her bottom lip trembled, her eyes shone… it was too much.

"Okay, okay! I… I do… kinda, maybe, sorta… like him… a little bit… maybe…" I said, my voice getting progressively weaker. Snowy didn't look that disappointed in me. In fact… she gently smiled.

The room was quiet for the count of twenty. Snowy looked right into my eyes, with eyes that looked so carefree and innocent, yet so knowing, somehow. She sighed happily at me… and then went in for the hug.

In a matter of about two seconds, suddenly she's bear hugging me, pressed up as tightly as she can against me. She just barely can get her face above my shoulder as she gently hums and squeezes me. I'm thrown off by her quickness. "Sn-Snowy! What are you…"

"Shhh… just relax for a sec…" she Snowy says, her hand rubbing my back and her thighs pressing against my hips. She gently breathes on my neck, a soft, warm breath that made shudder a little bit.

Her small, oh so small lips gently pressed on my neck, just barely. I tensed up instinctively. I tried to pull out of her grip, but if there's one thing Snowy knows best, it's hugs, and how to stay in them. She threw off any attempt I made to free myself, all while still slowly increasing pressure on my neck.

And just when I think that she's not gonna stop kissing my neck, she does. By now all my blush is back, full force. "Sn-Sn-Snowy… wh-why… why are you… k-kissing me…"

"Shhhhhhh…" is all Snowy said, putting a finger to my lips. "Just… relax. Don't fight it. Let your feelings flow."

"I-I don't…"

"Andr… please. I know that you like things nice and slow, but… you don't have to run from everything. Just… go with what your heart wants every now and then." Snowy whispered.

"I…"

"I mean, look at you. You like him. That much is true. But you don't want to face it." Snowy continued softly, now playing with my hair. "I've seen it in your eyes lately. How you look at him. You want him to see you, to hold you, but you're afraid. Is that right?"

"..."

"Well… I want to tell you… that he likes you as well. He might not say it, but… I can tell. He just wants to make sure that… you're comfortable around him, before he tries anything. Surprise him."

I stayed silent as the small wolf girl looked into my eyes and smiled. A young, carefree smile. It was almost as if she could see exactly what I was feeling.

"I… I'm… I…" I tried to say something. Snowy tilted her head. I paused, took a deep breath, and then tried again. "I… I can't. I'm… I'm afraid…"

"What is there to be afraid about?" Snowy asked.

"Rejection. Awkwardness. Rejection." I said quickly.

"You said rejection twice."

"That's what I'm most afraid of… I don't want to start anything, or try to start something, only to be… shot down. I… I'm already happy where I am. I don't need to change anything…" I said softly.

Snowy shook her head at me. "No no no… don't be like that. That's the denial talking. I know what denial feels like. Denial that someone doesn't care about you. Denial that you aren't happy with how things are."

"But… I really don't want… to have to deal with the pain of… rejection. I… I just want… to be happy. And to not have anyone… hate me… like… like my… my…"

Tears started to well up in my eyes. Memories flashed in my mind, me sitting alone eating lunch, getting beaten up because I looked different, teasing, pointing, laughter… all the children calling me names, the adults encouraging that… the… the...

Tears. Pain. Loss. Fear. White hot fear.

Without me even realizing it, tears started streaming down my face. Soon enough I was clinging to Snowy as if she was my lifeline, gently sobbing as the tears fell. She tensed up at my sudden reaction, but she quickly went into comforting mode. "H-hey… don't cry. What's wrong? Did… did I say something?"

I was too busy crying to answer back. I needed something to hold. Someone to hold. To be there. To help me. To understand me.

I sobbed for several minutes before I was able to pull myself together. The whole time, Snowy kept saying calming words, patting my back, and trying anything else she could think of to help me calm down.

Finally, I loosed my grip on her and pulled away, my face still streaked with my purple tears. I took a deep breath to try and calm down a little more.

Snowy looked a little afraid that she did something wrong. "Did… did I say something? I… I didn't mean to…"

I… I couldn't help but giggle a little bit. Here she was, trying to calm me down, but she thinks she did the exact opposite. I gently ruffled her hair, saying, "N-no. You haven't said anything wrong, Snowy. I… I just let something get to me for a moment."

Snowy visibly relaxed at my words. She heaved a small sigh of relief. "Okay… I thought I might had said something that was hurtful… thank Notch I was wrong…"

"B-but…" I said, looking down at the ground. She looked up at me again. "Y… you're… right. I… I need… to be brave… and face him with… how I really feel… so that I… no, we… can face what's coming ahead."

I really don't think there was ever a time where Snowy smiled as big as she did then. She practically tackled me, saying excitedly, "I know you'll do good, Andr! I just know it!"

I giggled a bit more, and hugged her back. "H-hey… don't give me too much confidence. I don't want… to scare him or anything. Besides… I'm not ready. I have to wait a while before I… before I try."

Snowy stopped hugging me. She sat up at the foot of my bed and thought for a second. "Well… when do you think you'll be ready?"

"Honestly… I don't know. Maybe… a few minutes, maybe a few hours… I don't know." I admitted.

"Well… until then, would you like me to stay? So that I can help? Please?" Snowy asked, her eyes getting slightly bigger again.

I agreed with her on that. Some company would probably do me some good. So that maybe I could prepare myself, both physically and mentally, for something that I never thought I'd do.

Anyway, Snowy looked happy about that. She scooted back over to me again, and begged me without saying anything to pet her again. I pet her soft hair all over again, letting the smooth and fluffy texture lace between my fingers.

"But… I… I'm still… really nervous… about telling him." I half whispered, my face still blushing slightly. "I… I don't know if… I can do it…"

"Hmm… how about we just roleplay?" Snowy said, sitting down cross-legged in front of me. "Here, pretend I'm Master. Practice."

She cleared her throat gently, and started talking in a much deeper voice, "Oh, hey Andr. What's up?"

I couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "That sounds nothing like him. You should work on your Cameron voice."

"Hey, I'm doing the best with what I have. Stay in character!" Snowy whispered gruffly. She continued in her bad Cameron voice, "What's up?"

I pushed some hair out of my eyes, and thought about what I would want to say to Cameron later. "Well… there's… actually something that… I w-want to say."

"I'm here for you Andr. What is it?" Snowy said. That Cameron impression was really bad, but… somehow, I could almost see him sitting right there, watching me.

"W-well… it's… Notch, this is hard… um…" I said, stuttering.

"Yeah?" Snowy said… but it wasn't her fake voice. Somehow… it was Cameron's voice, speaking right to me.

I choked a little bit. I couldn't find the right words to say. I… I should teleport away, I'm making this awkward, I'm…

N-no… I… I can do this…

"W-well… I… I just want to tell you… that…" I started, slowly warming up. "For… for a while now, I've… I've really, really… liked you… I mean, LIKE like you, Cameron… I… I don't know if it's okay… but… do… do you like me?"

I couldn't look at him. I turned away a bit, positive that I just made everything a million times worse on myself. "I… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. I've made everything awkward, huh? I'll… I'll just go…"

Suddenly Cameron grabbed my arm. I stuttered to a stop, weakly trying to pull my arm back. He kept holding it. He didn't say anything. He just looked gently at me.

I stared into his warm, inviting brown eyes. He gently smiled at me. I… I felt… confidence. Confidence flowed through me. Slowly, the awkwardness drained away.

I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I leaned forward and kissed him squarely on the lips. He didn't offer any resistance. I pulled him closer to me…

He squirmed a little bit. I loosed up just a bit, thinking he was uncomfortable.

"Mm!" he said softly. I didn't understand why. I simply kept kissing him…

"A-ndr… let… me…" he said… but… it was Snowy's voice?

And then it hit me.

I opened my eyes in shock. The image of Cameron wavered, leaving a very frazzled and embarrassed Snowy in place. And I was still kissing her.

Faster than either of us could process, I pulled away and scooted as far back as I could. My face burned purple again. Why me? 'I've… I've done it now. She'll… she'll never forgive me for this…"

"A-A-Andr… y-you just…" Snowy said, shaking a little out of surprise. "K-k-kissed me…"

"I-I-I didn't mean to! I just… got too much into it… I… I thought I was kissing him… I… I didn't mean to kiss you…" I said, trying to find somewhere to hide. Snowy only stared at me, wide eyed.

"I… I really didn't mean to… S-Snowy… I just…" I continued, but whatever else I would've said died in my throat when Snowy started crawling over to me. "Sn-Sn-Snowy?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she continued to crawl closer. Until soon enough she was practically on top of me, looking into my eyes.

Until she drops this on me.

"That's the second time."

I stayed silent, mostly out of confusion. When I didn't say anything, she continued, "The second time you've… kissed me like that."

"O-o-oh…" I said weakly, remembering that that wasn't the first time I've kissed her. I've… I've kissed her another time, haven't I? "S-s-so…?"

"And both times… I'm not ashamed to admit…" Snowy paused. She took a short breath…

And then said this: "I've liked both kisses."

And she quickly plants her soft lips on mine. At first, I'm in total shock. I try to push her back, but she quickly laces her arms around me, keeping her locked in place.

Then I try again. But it's much weaker. And one more time, without even trying. My eyes gently close. I softly place my hands on Snowy's back and push her closer. She hugs me back tighter in response.

I don't know how long with stayed like that. My heart was pounding out of my chest at first, mostly out of fear of being caught like this. But no one barged in on us at all.

Soon enough my heart was swelling with joy. After all… I did like Snowy. How could I not be happy about this?

We didn't do anything big yet. I think Snowy understood that I wouldn't be ready to do anything huge. Not yet at least. So we just softly kissed.

Snowy parted from me only to breath. And each time she did, two seconds later she'd come right back to me.

Finally, after Notch knows how long, Snowy pulled away and flopped onto her back, gasping gently for breath. I was hardly any better off.

Weakly, she pulled herself up and hugged me again. I hugged and pet her head wholeheartedly. She looked so happy with my touch.

"Mmm… that feels good…" Snowy said softly, finally catching her breath enough to speak. "I… I love getting pet…"

"Correction… you just love any attention you get… Puppy." I said, cracking a smile. Snowy seemed to like the little pet name I gave her. Hey, I never said I'd stop calling her that, now did I?

"Adorable, small, cute Puppy…" I cooed, snuggling close to her. She gently hummed in my arms. She was so warm, yet so small… I would never be able to stay mad at this girl, even if I tried. She was just so innocent and nice…

And then Cameron called out for her. "Snowy? Where are you?"

Snowy looked up and at the door. She didn't look happy at all to have to leave my arms. But she would, after about two minutes of delaying to hug me one more time, stand up, give me one last encouraging smile, and then dash off to wherever Cameron was.

I curled up into a ball and thought carefully about my next move. I… I knew I had to do it today. I'd never try any other time if I waited. The problem was, I didn't know when was a good time to talk about it. It was about eight in the morning by now, still plenty of time in the day.

'S-so… should I tell him in, maybe an hour, or wait until it starts getting late?' was the question I asked myself. Honestly, I couldn't decide. Each seemed to be about equal in terms of difficulty, pros, and cons.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I never heard the door opening, or the pair of legs walking over to me. Only when the person cleared their throat did I hear them.

The person was… Susie? "Hey… Snowy just told me something interesting."

I blushed hard. "Oh no… don't tell me…"

"You seem to have a certain fondness for Cameron, no?" Susie said, giving me a gentle smile. I blushed again.

"I… I… I don't…" I started. "I don't want…"

"Hey hey hey… it's alright. I understand." Susie said, putting a finger to my lips. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took as long as it did. I mean, I know you're shy and all, but… Cameron's so nice and sweet, I don't know how you didn't love him earlier."

"I-I… I just…" I said, my voice shaking a little. "W-will… will he accept me? A-after all, he has you two… and I'm just… a visitor."

"Well…" Susie said, smiling. "I don't think Cameron will be able to resist you, honestly. I think he likes it when a girl is a little shy. He was a bit shy himself, you know? As for the visitor thing… well, I've been thinking… of letting you stay here, if you want."

I blinked. Was… was she being honest?

"Y-y-you… you want… to let me… stay here? In-instead of… going back to my old h-home?" I asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Of course." Susie said gently. "I'd never want someone to go back to a place where… they didn't feel welcome. Where they never felt cared for. I speak for everyone in this house I believe when I say… you are perfectly welcome to stay and live with us for as long as you want. Okay?"

I couldn't help but stare in amazement at Susie. She… she just promised me a place where… I can be happy. I can… have an actual family. I…

I… I didn't know what to say.

Susie wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me, whispering, "Welcome to the family, Andr. Welcome."

"I-I-I-I… I c-can't say anything… o-other than… th-thank you… so much… S-Susie." I stuttered out. I loosely hug her back, softly sputtering my thanks to her. It was all I could do to keep from crying in joy.

Somewhere deep inside me… something changed. Now… I felt… happy. Truly happy. I mean, I was happy before, but this… this was a whole new level. I… I felt like I could do anything. Climb a mountain, teleport a million blocks, just about anything!

And I knew exactly who was going to see that feeling first.

 _Time skip to around 6:30 pm._

 _Cameron POV…_

So the day for me was about normal. I did small things, made some food, the usual.

Then Susie tells me that she can't find Andr because she's not in her room. So I of course went ahead to try and find her.

Turns out that it would be easier than I thought. I simply guessed that if she wasn't in her room, then she'd be up on the roof again, and lo and behold, there she was. A quick trip riding the wind up was all it took.

Andr was sitting in more or less the exact same place she was in this morning. I approached her slowly, but made sure that she was able to hear me, so that I wouldn't accidentally scare her away.

She glanced back at me, so I smiled a little bit. She blushed, but I could see in her eyes that she was happy to see me.

I sat down next to her, just looking out at the slowly descending sun. It wasn't sunset just yet, that wouldn't be for a least another half hour or so, but the sky was turning bright red in color.

"*sigh*... really nice view. Wish I could've found it first." I muttered softly.

"Well… at least you know about it now, right?" Andr said, scooting closer to me. But only a small bit. I guessed that she still didn't trust me fully just yet.

I sighed again. "Look, Andr, I… I'm sorry that I never told you about… you know what, sooner."

She stayed silent, so I went on. "I mean… things just started happening out of nowhere. One thing led to the next, and then… now I pay the price."

"Susie already told me that you could stay, but… I… I understand if you don't want to stay here." I wrapped up, hanging my head a little bit. "I understand…"

"..." Andr's breathing changed.

"Mm?" I said sadly, looking up at her again.

"I…" she started, before giving up. She grabbed my hand and held it close to her heart. "I… I don't hate you."

"You… you don't?"

"Of course I don't! I mean… you've been really busy lately, right? You've been running around everywhere, knocked out, everything! So… I think it's very understandable that you'd have forgotten to tell me something like that. I don't blame you in the slightest for not telling me sooner about your… 'other' friends. Don't beat yourself up. For my sake?"

"Andr…" I said softly, looking up at her. Even when sitting down, she somehow was taller than me. Though this was only by about an inch, maybe less, so it wasn't that bad. Anyway, I… I didn't know what to really say.

"Just… please don't try to do that again. You know, like telling me AFTER we fall of a building." Andr said.

I couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Andr looked back at the slowly descending sun. She seemed… happy. Truly happy about something. If I had to guess, it'd probably be that she's able to stay here at the house now, but… there feels like something else. Something else I'm not picking up at just yet.

As I'm thinking this, I raise my hand to get the hair out of my eyes, and put it back down. But I didn't realize that the landing zone had Andr's hand on it.

We both pulled away in surprise, before relaxing and continue looking out.

Without my knowledge, Andr scooted a bit closer to me. Then a little closer.

I only realize this when her hand lightly touches mine. My first instinct is to pull it away, but Andr laces her fingers between mine before I can. I glance over at her to see a light blush forming, but she still has a soft smile on her lips.

So I decide to test her. I gently squeeze her hand, just enough to get her attention. She flinches a little, but doesn't move otherwise.

I try a different tactic. I scoot a little bit over, so we're almost shoulder to shoulder. She almost turns her head over to look at me, but she resists.

I look back out to the horizon. I trying to piece this together in my head. Normally by now, she'd be blushing harder than stone and excuse herself. But now… all she's done so far is lightly blush and flinch a little.

Before I could think about anything else, though, Andr speaks again. "Hey, Cameron?"

"Yeah, Andr?"

"I… I have a question."

"Go… go ahead."

"What… I mean, in your opinion, what… what is love, to you?"

I caught off guard. "Wha-?"

"Don't ask me why." she interrupts. "Just… what is love, in your eyes?"

I blink a few times at her, before turning back to the sun to think about it. 'What is love…'

"I… I guess… if I had to say something…" I start. Andr seems captivated by what I'm going to say.

"I guess to me… love is more than just a feeling. Love is finding a few people who actually care about you. They don't care what you look like, who you are, what you are… they simply care about you as a person. Sure, you may have your flaws, your weaknesses. But… the people or things that love you… they can look past those. To me… love is in all of us. No matter what happens… love can bring out the good in someone."

Andr is looking at me, small tears in her eyes. "A-again… are you sure you aren't Notch in disguise? That… that almost sounded like something he would say."

I shook my head. "Nope. Just me. But… that's what I feel love is. Why… why do you want to know?"

It's her turn to think carefully about what she wants to say. Her eyes are closed. Her breathing is soft. I… I'm entranced by the sight in front of me. The sun is making her look drop dead beautiful right now. As is she wasn't there already, in her own way.

Andr looks down at her hands, as she says, "Just… wondering."

I stare at her. "W-what? I was curious." she says to me, blushing again.

I stare at her for a few more seconds before turning back out to the sun. I didn't really know what to say at that point, so I guess I should head back in-

"Cameron…" Andr says, squeezing my hand. I almost forgot that we were still holding hands. I almost turn my head, but before I can, she lets go of my hand and wraps her arms around, her forehead resting on top of my head, like I'm a stuffed animal.

I blush a bit by the sudden 'attack', but let it happen. With the position I was in, and the way she held me, I couldn't hug her back, unfortunately, but Andr didn't seem to mind that.

That doesn't mean I didn't try to hug her, however. I squirmed a little, trying to get my arms free to start, but I couldn't compete with the endergirl's much stronger grip.

Andr noticed my squirming. "What's wrong? Don't like hugs?"

I immediately stopped, blushing at I glanced up at Andr's eyes. "N-no, of course I like hugs, just… I wanted to hug you back, but… my arms…"

Andr giggled. "Aww… how sweet of you…" she cooes, poking my nose a little bit. "But I want to savor this, for just a little longer. Humor me, please?"

While I wasn't exactly sure why she wanted me to 'humor' her a bit more, I nevertheless gave her the go ahead. She seemed happy to hear that, and resumed her tight hug on me. Pulling me closer, closer to her thin frame, trying to wrap herself more and more around me…

It got to the point where she was basically bear hugging me. At this point she'd already pulled me down to my side, but when her legs wrap around me, that's when I knew Andr meant business. She said she wanted to savor this, and by Notch, savor it is what she was gonna do.

"U-uh, A-Andr?" I stuttered, very aware that if she wasn't careful, she might very well break me like a twig. I know I said I liked hugs, but I also like staying in one piece while giving said hug, so yeah. Call me weak, but I'd rather stay alive. I didn't want my gravestone to be engraved with, 'He was hugged to death, cared for till the very end.'

Dear Notch, that would be awful. And embarrassing. Awfarrassing?

Thankfully, Andr heard me and pulled away, pulling me back up at the same time.

"*sigh*... that was a nice hug. Thank you, Cameron…" she said, ruffling my hair with her hand playfully.

"Yeah, sure, nice hug… I could practically see the light…" I say, still a bit winded. Did I forget to mention that Andr was making it the slightest bit harder to breathe? She was.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." she said offhandedly. "Didn't mean to squeeze you that hard."

"It's… it's fine, I guess. No real harm done." I say, regaining myself. "Say, Andr?"

"Mm?"

"Not that I don't appreciate the hug, but… you seem a bit more… bolder than normal." I said. "What are you thinking about?"

Andr looked back down at the ground, seemingly thinking hard about something. While she thought, her breathing… changed again. Almost like… she was psyching herself up.

And then she disappeared. And I was all alone on the roof.

"Wha- Andr!" I called out, standing up and looking around. "Andr! Wha- where did you go?!"

Then, just as I got back to the middle, and considered getting back inside to see if she was there, a heard the familiar soft sound of teleporting behind me. I turned around and looked a bit up like I always did when Andr was standing next to me.

And met her halfway as she bent down and kissed my lips, eyes closed, cheeks burning.

Needless to say, whatever I would've said before literally died in my throat, and shock and panic started to take over. I almost ran away, but Andr placed her hands on my shoulders, keeping me from moving away. I tried, and failed, to pull away from her kiss, but she did a good job in keeping her lips locked with my own.

Then I slowed. I was relaxing. Andr's knees bent and hit the ground, as did mine. Then our arms slowly locked around each other, pulling us as close as we could physically be.

I started to fully kiss her back. My cheeks are burning red, but at this point that was a far away thought. I pulled her as deep into the kiss as I could muster, and she gladly copied me.

And then, she pulled away, gasping for breath. I was hardly any better. We both were blushing deeper than either of us ever had before, but that was the least of our concerns.

And then the words came.

"A-A-Andr… y-you just… I just… we just…" I stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence. Can you blame me? I was just kissed _again_ by another beautiful girl, and here I thought she'd never do something like that! And out of nowhere, I just went for it!

Andr… giggled a bit once she could speak. "Yep. We just kissed." she stated bluntly, for once drinking in MY blushing face. "And I bet you liked it."

"I… we… of course…" I mumbled, still trying to get my shit together. Fortunately, Andr still wanted to talk.

"I… I really like you, Cameron. I mean, I know that it's only been a week, and what I did when we first met wasn't exactly great, but… after spending this week with you and the others… I… I can't help but like you." she says, looking me dead in the eye. Her cheeks were blushing up a storm, but I could tell that there was nothing but truth in her words.

I didn't know what to say. Andr didn't seem to like the quiet.

"W-well? D-do… do you l-like me?" she asked, blushing harder, as worry started to settle on her face.

I blinked several times, before finding my voice again. "I-I… I mean… I don't NOT like you…" I say first, looking off to the side embarrassedly. "Just… I mean, I wasn't…"

Andr's eyes seemed to visibly light up at my words. She sighs in relief, her shoulders instantly relaxing. "Okay… I… for a second there, I thought you were going to say no…"

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity for me. I wasn't sure what to say, what to do, how to feel…

Then, two helpful girls decided to step in for me. My spirit friends.

In a moment, a large wave of calm washed over my mind, stopping my confusion in it's tracks. The tension in my shoulders vanished, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, a new feeling came over me. I suddenly felt like I had just taken a ten hour nap. Energy, strength, and confidence started surging into my very soul. This felt like… vitality.

It wasn't long before I felt brave again. And ready to let Andr know how I truly felt.

"Andr…" I started softly, slightly surprising even myself with how soft, yet confident it sounded. Andr looked at me again just in time for me to wrap my arms around her neck. "I…"

Andr blushed harder than she ever had since we met, right as I said, "I… I love you."

And I gently kissed her, squeezing her thin frame into a warm, tight hug. She seemed frozen for the briefest of seconds before relaxing, and returning the kiss back to me.

I don't know how long we stayed together like that. I do know, however, that when we did finally part, the sun was touching the horizon. We don't say anything to each other, we just stare lovingly into each others eyes.

Suddenly, I feel the now familiar sensation of teleporting come over me, and now me and Andr are kneeling on her bed in her bedroom. Before I can say anything about that, however, she suddenly quiets me with yet another kiss.

Slowly but surely, she applies more and more pressure into her kiss, forcing me backwards. The next thing I know, I've been pushed onto my back, with Andr still trying to kiss me as much as she can without opening up.

I try numerous times to say something, anything to her, but all that comes out is incoherent moans. I eventually gave up, just trying to return her kiss back as best as I could. 'Nothing… I repeat, NOTHING, can ruin this.' I thought.

"AHA! I knew that I heard them here!" an all-too familiar voice said, full of triumph.

Andr was startled so badly that she jumped up a foot and somehow fell off the bed. I looked over at the door to see none other than Susie and Snowy standing in the doorway, the biggest grins on their faces as they took in the scene.

"H-h-haven't you two heard of privacy?!" I half-yelled, my face burning red again. Andr pulled herself back up, but her face was also burning just as hard, if not harder than, as mine was, and looked like she was trying to hide behind the bed.

"They totally confessed!" Snowy said, beaming. "I knew it the second I saw them kissing!"

"It looked like they were enjoying themselves, didn't it?" Susie said, grinning.

"P-p-please…" Andr mumbled, getting more and more embarrassed by the second. "S-st-stop… teasing…"

"Y-yeah! Wh-what she said!" I added, joining Andr on the floor behind her bed. "Just… please leave us in peace!"

"Cameron and Andr, sittin' in a tree~" Susie and Snowy sang, the cheekiest looks on both of their faces. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G~"

For at least five minutes, me and Andr both hide behind the bed, as Susie and Snowy both teased the crap out of us. Our faces burned…

But we refused to stop holding the other person's hand, no matter what.

I never would forget that night. Not just because Susie and Snowy made sure I wouldn't, but… just out of happiness. Even if she was the shyest person I'll ever meet, Andr was a good friend. And now, I guess a lover. Even if we get teased a little bit…

I think we'll be just okay together.

 **So, uhh…**

 **I realize now that that intro bit was rather somber on my part. If I scared any of you, please, don't be alarmed. I didn't mean to be like that.**

 **Just… I can't believe I let this story high and dry for ANOTHER two months!**

 **And the worst part of it all? I got nothing.**

 **Really, I have no excuse as to why I wasn't writing, other than… I guess it's like writer's block? But instead of me not knowing what to write, I can't find the right words for it.**

 **It's been hitting me hard on both my stories for some time now, and I really was hoping it would've disappeared by now. But it didn't.**

 **And now I have to say… I'm sorry.**

 **I really hate saying that. Not because I'm not sorry, but… I'm saying it too much. Eventually, 'Sorry' won't work anymore, and you guys won't care anymore.**

 **So… enough messing around.**

 **I'm going to put a deadline on myself. I won't tell you when I set it, but I promise you all, one way or another, I'm going to make this deadline.**

 **Writer's block can't hold me down forever. I love this story, and nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will hold me back.**

 **So… until next time, my dedicated readers, most of which have probably been with me since the beginning. I'll be back, and it won't be a two month repeat.**

 **Until next time readers, this is ButterHunter, and I hope you all will stay awesome.**


	33. The S&S Corps

**WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

 **Hey all you readers out there! It's ButterHunter! And welcome to the official one year anniversary of One Block at a Time! You see why it took as long as it did to get out now?**

 **Anyway, I'll shut up. Here's the new chapter! One year old, whoo!**

Chapter 33: The S&S Corps

The next few months passed by rather fast.

Seriously, after Andr had confessed to me, several months went by, without anything major happening to us.

I do recall making many trips to and from Blockington, at least one or two every month. My sister, who was well, thank Notch, was glad to see me, and even if I could only bring Snowy along with me, that was alright with Susie and Andr.

During one of these visits, I uh… happened to walk into the bookstore again. And uh… I may or may not have seen a book titled, 'Raising Dogs: From Pup to Adult.'

Out of… sheer curiosity, I opened it up, and found a section called… um… 'Dealing with a Fast Maturing Dog.'

D-don't judge me! I was just… hoping that I would find out how to deal with Snowy's 'mood' swings, alright? Only that. Nothing else.

A-anyway, I did learn a few things from that book. Like how constant exercise can help work off the effects of heat. While it wasn't a perfect fix, it did make my life, and probably Snowy's as well, a whole lot easier.

And another thing: I also relocated the work area. Before, it was just a mess of a few furnaces and a crafting table near the front door, but now it had it's own room, with the walls full of space for plans and such, and almost the whole back wall was furnaces, ready for smelting duty.

Apart from dealing with Snowy's mood swings and building plans, another thing I had to take in mind was that rooms were already starting to fill up in our second floor. We had only one more room left, and now that winter was starting to clear up, patients seemed to be coming more often. If I thought that old skeleton was bad, there were plenty of worse cases.

Some were no trouble at all, like the occasional creeper that needed a bandage. As long as I hid in the back or upstairs for a while, things were okay. But some weren't that simple, like that skeleton who broke both his legs trying to ride a horse for whatever reason.

The worst patient that came in during these months was that zombie who somehow not only broke nearly every bone in his left hand, but also apparently had lost a rib and had an arrow in his knee. It took nearly five days for Susie to patch him up enough to get him back up to his feet, just so that he could get better help in his hometown.

When these patients leave, I'm not exactly in the best mood for having been cramped upstairs for days, waiting for Susie to finish. These are also the days that I'm kinda cranky, be it from boredom or simply because I'm starving. Susie always brings me food and water wherever I'm hiding, but even she knows that I'm not happy hiding up here.

So whenever I can finally return to living in my own home, the girls always treat me even more nicely than normal, all in an effort to make me glad that those patients are gone.

But then... one day came, around mid-July.

It was almost midday, and finally another problem patient had left. Susie came back upstairs to see me still lying in Snowy's bed, tired.

"Cameron, that creeper is gone now. Come downstairs for brunch." she said gently, knowing that I wasn't exactly peachy right now.

I mumbled something in response. I don't even know what I said, but I started to pull off the covers to Snowy's bed. Susie helped me up, and half carrying my semi-conscious body, we made our way downstairs.

The reason I was so tired? Remember that creeper Susie mentioned? Yeah, they were LOUD when they went to sleep in the sickbay. Guess they had really bad nightmares or something like that. I honestly don't know how the other girls could take it, especially Snowy. Thankfully, they only were here for three days, but still, it was the longest two nights of my life.

Anyway, once me and Susie made it downstairs, Snowy and Andr greeted me. Even though I was still a complete mess, I nodded to them gently, gratefully sitting down at the counter.

"Still really tired?" Andr asked, wearing her black hoodie but missing her hat. I only nodded, too tired to talk right now. As well as starving.

Snowy immediately cuddled up to me. "Look on the bright side, Master. At least he's gone now. I don't really like creepers to begin with, so I'm just glad that's over."

"Yeah… sure… if… you… say so…" I mutter sleepily.

Several pancakes, two glasses of milk, and hugs from Snowy slowly worked their magic in waking me up, though not completely. At least I could actually converse like a normal human being rather than just mumble.

Anyway, once breakfast was cleaned up, (I wanted to help, but Susie told me to sit down and rest for a while instead) I started to think about ways to get me fully back to normal.

Andr came over to me, a soft smile on her face as she knelt down to my level. "Hey. Feeling any better?"

"A little." I said, leaning back in my chair. "Still not all there. But… getting there."

"Mm. Good." Andr said, taking my hand. "Do you need anything?"

"No, not at the moment, really." I say. "Why?"

"Just… thought you'd want to be with me for a while." Andr said, blushing softly.

I smiled lightly. "Heh. I'd like that. That sounds nice."

And just as I finished saying that, Andr teleports me to her room again, for like the third time this week. At this point, teleporting doesn't even phase me, it's as normal as walking up some stairs

Anyway, Andr had teleported us to her bed, smiling softly as she gazed gently into my eyes. I did the same back at hers. They were so… mesmerizing. Whenever I started looking into them, I never wanted to stop.

Three seconds later and I can't help it anymore. I lean forward and kiss her gently, wrapping my arms around her thin frame. She blushed heavily, but that's nothing new. Eventually, she returns the kiss back to me, trying to bring me closer, closer, closer…

When we parted lips, we realized that Andr apparently pulled us so hard, she laid herself on her back. We blushed heavily from that, but… neither of us made any attempt to sit back up.

"A… Andr…" I said softly, cupping a hand around her cheek. She blushes even HARDER, but still makes no movement, save for her breathing.

We kiss again. And again. And again. Over and over. Wanting from the bottom of our hearts that we would always feel this free, this… happy.

By the time we finish, I'm out of breath, and lying down on my back. Andr seemed slightly better off, but not by much. She was leaning against the headboard of her bed, holding a hand to her chest, purple blush covering most of her face at this point.

We stayed like that for five minutes, until I could push myself up again. Andr seemed recovered as well, and watched me as I gently stretched and popped my back.

"Ohh that was a good one…" I said as a loud pop filled the air.

"That sounded almost painful…" Andr commented softly. "And really loud."

"So? Only you and me really heard it. No one els-" I started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of pounding footsteps in the hallway.

Then the door burst open, and Snowy practically came running in, looking worried. "Master! Who's hurting you?!"

I blinked a little bit, before responding, "Uhhh, Snowy? I was just popping my back. No one was hurting me."

Snowy blinked back at me, realizing what that noise was. "Ohh… my bad."

Andr giggled a little bit. "Someone is a bit overprotective."

Snowy pouted a little bit. "Hey, I care about my Master. Is that so wrong?"

Andr didn't answer, she just giggled a little bit more. Snowy came over and sat down between me and Andr, still pouting a little.

"Awww…" I said, thinking her pouting was adorable. "Someone wants a hug."

"I think so too." Andr said happily, joining me as we both sandwich Snowy between us. She looked a bit surprised, before relaxing and sighing softly, her huffy mood long gone.

Eventually, I try to part from Snowy, but she wasn't ready to let me go. She grabs my shoulder with her right hand and tries to pull me back to her, but fails due to Andr holding her other side.

Not easily deterred, she shakes out of Andr's grip and uses both hands to pull me back to her, this time being successful. Honestly, I wasn't really all that surprised. When Snowy wants to cuddle you, she'll cuddle you, no matter what it takes.

But what _did_ surprise me, was when Andr decided to flip the roles around. She teleported behind me and rewrapped herself around me, so now, I was the one sandwiched in between these two.

After a brief second of confusion, I simply relax and slowly lean into their arms. My head comfortably rests on Andr's shoulder as I just stay quiet and enjoy the hug.

I felt so relaxed…

 _Third person POV…_

It must have been at least five minutes after those three started hugging. Snowy and Andr were almost surprised when they realized that Cameron had fallen asleep in their arms, before they remembered how he was when they first saw him that morning.

"Maybe we should give him so space to sleep. He looks like he needs it." Andr suggested quietly.

Snowy almost agreed, when she remembered the last time she left her master alone when he fell asleep. "Well… you can go ahead. I'm kinda tired too…"

Andr simply shrugged. "Suit yourself." she said, leaving Snowy and a sleeping Cameron alone.

Snowy sat next to her master, and kept watch on him in case something, or someone, did something to him.

A minute passed. She watched his dreamy face, and yawned.

Two minutes. Snowy's eyes became droopy, and she curled up to Cameron's warm body.

Three minutes. Snowy gently closed her eyes, and almost instantly passed out.

Gentle snores came from the two, as they dreamt pleasant dreams…

…

Then…

It happened.

The window… creaked open.

…

 _Some time later…_

 _Susie POV…_

"Those two have been sleeping quite some time, huh?" I spoke to Andr as I made dinner.

"Well, you can't blame Cameron, can you?" Andr told me. "I mean, you remember what he was like this morning."

"As for Snowy's excuse?" I jokingly asked.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just tired too." Andr said, shrugging.

"Well, can you please go get them? Dinner's almost done." I asked, taking the steak out of the furnace. Andr nodded and headed upstairs.

I just finished baking the potatoes, when suddenly, Andr shouted. "Susie! Get up here!"

As quickly as I could, I turned off all the furnaces and ran upstairs. Andr was waiting just outside her room, her face pale.

"What happen-" I started, but stopped when I looked in Andr's room.

It was empty. No one was there…

But a piece of paper was on the bed.

I gently walked over and, with a shaking hand, picked up the paper.

 _Looking for someone? Sorry, but they're gone forever. Sorry not sorry. Signed, S &S Corps._

"W-what? D-did…" I started, my voice shaking.

"I… I already looked around." Andr said slowly. "Cameron and Snowy are gone."

 _Meanwhile, at an unknown location…_

 _Snowy POV…_

"Mmm…"

I sat up gently, stretching. "That was a good…"

Then I opened my eyes. "...nap."

I… was in a dark room. With a door made of bars, and a torn up bed in the corner. The walls were made of stone brick, with moss growing in some. I… I was in cell.

"W… what?"

Then, a low bark came from behind me. I turned quickly to see… a wolf.

In fact, I knew him. He was… my old pack leader. "W-what… what are you doing here? Where are we? Where's my master?!"

The old wolf barked at me again, making me quiet. He growled at me a bit, which I understood as, "Too many questions, not enough time."

I slowed down a little bit, and took a deep breath.

Just then, a voice called out from the bars. I turned to see a… spider? A spider was pushing two plates through a small opening at the bottom of said door. Half of a rather unappetizing looking porkchop was on each plate, with a small cup of what looked like water, but might not be…

The wolf with me ran over and quickly pulled his plate of 'food' over to the far wall and started eating like, well, a wolf.

The spider then hissed at me, and while I couldn't understand it, what it said probably wasn't very nice. It scuttled away, leaving me alone and confused.

'Wh-where am I? Why am I here? Where's my master?' I asked myself.

 _Meanwhile, in another room…_

 _Cameron POV…_

…

…

'Why… can't I see anything?'

'Wait… wasn't I sleeping at home? What am I doing in a chair?'

My thoughts are slow, as my brain slowly tries to wake up fully.

I can't see anything. My glasses are still on, but… I can't see anything.

Then, I hear a door opening in front of me.

"Is he secure?"

"Yes, he is. I made sure of it."

"Alright. Let's do this already."

Footsteps, coming closer to me…

A chair being pulled, and someone sitting down and scooting forward…

Scratch that, two chairs, with two people sitting down in them…

"Well, take that damn bag off of his head!"

And suddenly, my view was clear.

First thing I process: I'm tied to a chair, my bag and tool belt gone. Second: there's a light right in front of me, shining from… some weird, bright rock, it looks like. Third: I'm in a small, gray stone room, with a door on the far wall in front of me. And finally: the two people sitting down in front of me.

The one on the left is a small, lean woman, with bright red eyes, purple hair tied into a ponytail, and red hair clips which kinda looked like a spider eyes. Her clothes were all black in color. She looked coldly at me, as if having me here was an annoyance.

The one on the right was also a woman. She looked a bit more relaxed. Even though she didn't look very old, her long hair, which was in ponytails and slightly covered by a hat, was completely gray. But what stood out about this woman wasn't her hair, nor was it her gray eyes.

What stood out was her clothing. Or rather, a lack thereof.

Her 'shirt', and I say that loosely, covered her from the neck to just barely her chest. However, it was cut in a way that I could fairly see a rather impressive wrack, not to mention her lean, fit build. She did have a weapon on her, a bow by her chair, but I couldn't see a quiver of any kind.

I tried to move, but like I said, my hands were tied, literally. I wanted to yell at these two, but they spoke first.

"Stop moving. You aren't gonna be able to break those bonds." the purple haired girl said.

Panic was rising in my chest. "Wh-what's going on? Wh-where am I?!"

"Just relax for a minute." the gray haired one said.

"Kinda hard to relax when you're tied up!" I yelled.

The gray haired girl sighed, clearly expecting a response like that. "Look, the more you struggle, the worse this is gonna be. Look, I didn't want to tie you up, but Silk here forced me to."

"And if we didn't, Diana?" the purple haired girl, who I assumed was Silk, argued. "He would be all over us! He could fight!"

"Unlikely, considering we took his weapons for now." the gray haired woman, Diana, said. "Look, now he probably doesn't even WANT to trust us. We didn't give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Like hell I don't!" I said, still struggling even though I knew it was probably pointless. "Let me go!"

Silk sighed impatiently. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"Wait a minute… where's Snowy?!" I shouted, struggling hard against my bonds. "She wouldn't have left me alone to be kidnapped! What did you do to her?!"

"Who, the wolf girl?" Silk asked, scoffing at me. "She's fine. But you aren't getting her right now."

"Oh come on. At least let's prove that his friend is okay." Diana said to Silk. Silk clearly didn't like it, but when she looked back at me, she sighed.

"Fine. I'll be back." she said, standing up and leaving. "Make sure he doesn't do anything."

Diana nodded, and Silk left the room, her footsteps echoing on the stone floor even audible from where I was.

Diana sighed, and looked at me again. She stood up, and walked over to me, kneeling to get on my level.

When she spoke, it was with a surprising amount of softness. "Look. I don't want to hurt you. And Silk doesn't either, if you believe that."

"Kinda hard to, considering my situation!" I half shouted, though not really due to how close this girl was to me.

"I know you're upset. I would be too, if I was you." Diana said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to bat it away, but I couldn't, so I tried to shake it off, but to no avail.

"*sigh*... why must we do this to you…?" she said, suddenly hugging me. I froze in surprise.

The strange thing was though… she felt… cold. Like, almost freezing cold. It should've been obvious, given how little she was wearing, but it still surprised me.

The way her arms wrapped around me, slowly getting tighter… it was like she was clinging to my warmth.

I squirmed uncontrollably at how cold she was. She seemed to realize that, and gratefully let go. "Er… sorry. I… I get cold easily."

"Gee, I wonder why…" I muttered, glancing at what she was wearing again. This caused me to be made uncomfortably aware of how close her chest was to me, but I kept my face neutral.

"Err…" Diana said, her hands still on my shoulders. "Just… if there's anything, anything at all I can do to make you… more trusting of us… talk to me, okay? I'll do anything in my power to-"

But she was interrupted when the door on the far wall started to open. Hastily, she moved over to the wall on my right and leaned against it, to make it look like she'd been there a long time.

When I looked back over at the door, I was surprised in a good way. Snowy actually walked through the door, being escorted by Silk. The moment she saw me, Snowy tried to break out of Silk's grasp, and succeeded.

"Master!" she yelled, practically leaping over the table in front of me and hugging me as much as she could.

I wished I could've hug her back, but struggling against my bonds still bore no fruit for me. Or at least, until suddenly the bonds disappeared, falling to the floor. When I tried to find out who it was, a voice whispered, "Don't try anything funny."

Silk's voice. She cut my bonds.

A moment of hesitation passed, before I fully realized my arms were free. Briefly, I considered grabbing Snowy and running for it, but decided it would be better to just hug her, at least for now.

"I'll get us out of here. I swear." I whispered to Snowy.

Snowy didn't respond. She only hugged me as much as she could.

We hugged for quite some time, until I got Snowy to let go. She didn't seem in any way ready for that. She wanted to never let me go. I understood why: she was alone, in an unfamiliar place. She wanted comfort from someone she trusted.

Even Silk, who had been all-business up to that point, seemed to have softer expression as she asked, "There. That make you feel better?"

I nodded. At least I knew she was okay. That was good.

"G-good…" Diana spoke to my right, a stutter in her voice. I glanced over to her, and I saw… her shaking, her eyes trained right at Snowy. "N-now we c-can…"

And then Snowy looked over. Diana stopped talking and shook, as Snowy simply…

Stared. But a little bit of her hair stuck up the longer she stared.

"Umm… Snowy?" I asked. She didn't respond. She only looked at Diana.

Now, at this point, I already guessed that Diana and Silk weren't entirely human, that much was obvious. And based at how Snowy was acting toward Diana, and the two's outfits, I'd have to say that the two, Diana and Silk, were part skeleton and spider, respectively.

Which reminded me too late about how a wolf sees skeletons.

"H-her eyes…" Diana said, slowly backing away to the door.

Indeed, Snowy's eyes were slowly turning crimson. If I didn't step in, I wasn't sure what was to happen.

"Snowy… relax." I said, gently pulling her gaze away from Diana. "She won't hurt you, and you won't hurt her, right?"

Diana nodded rapidly. She looked ready to start running at any second.

Snowy slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she open them again, they were back to the normal brown.

"Right." she said, looking back to Diana. "Of course."

"Good…" I breathed, tension in my shoulders loosening. "So… what were we talking about?"

Silk and Diana sat back down, a bit reluctantly in Diana's case. Since there was no other chairs, Snowy simply sat in my lap, which made us look the same height, oddly enough.

"So… I know we did kidnap you two." Diana said, still eyeing Snowy carefully. "But trust us, we did it for a reason."

"And we should trust a skeleton and a spider because…?" I asked honestly.

Silk looked a tiny bit surprised. "Smarter than he looks." I heard her murmur.

"Considering what I've seen, it wasn't all that hard to put two and two together…" I said softly, glancing over to Silk's weird spider eye hair pieces and Diana's arrowless bow.

"Well, whatever." Silk spoke suddenly. "We're out of time today."

Diana looked confused, until something clicked. "Oh… right."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'out of time'?" I asked.

"You stalled us too long." Silk replied. "So we have to try again some other time."

Without much else of an explanation, Silk stood up and stood by the door. "Wolf first."

"I have a name, you know!" Snowy almost yelled, angry. "And it's Snowy!"

"Fine." Silk huffed. "Snowy first."

"I'm not leaving my Master." Snowy said, holding onto my arm.

"Oh for the love of…" Silk moaned. "Look, the faster you come with me, the faster we can all forget this ever happened."

"I'm not leaving unless my Master comes with, and that's final!" Snowy said, lacing an arm around mine and crossing hers.

Silk looked at the end of her rope. "Fine! Both of you, come with me! Happy?"

"Much." Snowy replied coldly. She stood up, but not before hugging me tightly again.

"Just come with us. We'll explain tomorrow." Diana spoke to me, helping me to my feet.

"You do realize that I still don't trust you two in the slightest, right?" I asked.

"Duly noted." Silk said. "Now shake a leg already!"

Without much else of a choice, I followed Silk, who had an eye on Snowy, as we were taken down, deeper into this weird building.

I saw what looked like cells, most of which were empty. I did spy a bone or two in some of them, and something told me they weren't just decor.

Then, towards the end of the hallway, Diana stopped me for a second, and allowed Silk and Snowy to go further ahead.

"What are you-" I started, but was quickly silenced by Diana.

When Snowy and Silk disappeared around the corner, Diana let out a small sigh. "Good… I need a bit of space from her…"

"Who, Snowy?" I whispered huskily.

"Her, yes, but Silk also." Diana said. "We may be best friends, but I need my space every now and then."

"Some best friend…" I murmured.

"Oh, Silk isn't _that_ bad." Diana said, but her voice seemed to falter for the briefest of seconds. "You just… have to be around her enough. She may seem cold, but that's just because she works hard. Maybe a bit too hard sometimes…"

"Whatever." I said, waiting for something bad to happen. "Why are we stopped?"

Diana paused for a brief moment. She looked like she was debating with herself over something.

"I…" she started, before pulling me off to the side quickly.

"I wish I could do more for you." she said. "I really do."

"..." I stayed silent.

"Look… I know things look bad." she said, glancing around. "But… I'm sure we can make this better. I know we will."

"..."

"So… just… you have to believe that I'm doing all that I can to help. It took a lot of bargaining just to keep your friend unharmed. I can, and will, work to getting you out safely."

I nodded slowly. Was she being serious? Or was it just an attempt to lure me into a false sense of security?

Either reason, she started walking again, like we never had even talked.

Finally, we reached our stop. Silk was there, and she looked pissed. "Diana! Where were you?! I spent the last two minutes keeping this one from running back to save him! What were you doing?!"

"Oh, just talking." Diana said casually.

"Talking?! You couldn't have walked and talked?!" Silk almost yelled.

Diana didn't respond, she simply lightly pushed me to the door. Silk angrily opened it, and, unable to do much else, I entered.

They shut it behind me, which was to be expected. Snowy was sitting on the floor, looking… scared.

"Now come on. Let's go." Silk said.

"Alright, alright." Diana said, walking away with her spider friend.

Soon, it was just me and Snowy. I went over and sat down next to Snowy, looking at the floor.

"M-Master…" she stuttered. "Wha-what's gonna happen to us?"

"*sigh*... I have absolutely no idea." I admitted. "But I promise I will get us out of here. Okay?"

"I… I believe you, of course." Snowy said, grabbing my arm. "But… I can't help but… feel… afraid."

I slightly chuckled. "I'd be scared if you weren't."

I took one of her small hands and laced my fingers between hers. "Just… try and relax for me, okay? It's okay now. We're okay, no one hurt us, everything is going as good as it can right now. Let's try to keep it that way until we can get out of here."

Snowy slowly nodded, still looking a bit worried. "You're right, but… I'm still afraid."

"Then I'm right here to comfort you." I said, before gently hugging her. I didn't realizing it until I hugged her, but… she was shaking a bit. Like a dog who just heard thunder in the distance and is freaking out.

Snowy practically smothered herself into me, trying to hug me as tightly as she could. Even if I wanted to pull away at this point, I couldn't do that to her. Despite how well she managed to hide it before, deep down, she was… scared.

"There there… I just know we can pull together." I said to her, slowly petting her smooth hair.

"Master…" Snowy replied suddenly, looking back into my eyes. "What about Mistress and Andr?"

I froze. I hadn't remembered about that. Susie and Andr must've been freaking out when they realized we were gone suddenly, without any sort of explanation.

"Well… we just have to hope that they will be alright for now." I said slowly. "And for now… we just have to work together. Alright?"

Snowy looked into my eyes. Obviously, I was scared, but I was trying to be brave for her sake. I'd bet ten to one that she must've seen how afraid I was when she looked into my eyes. That was something I really liked about her.

She must have wanted to comfort me back, like I was doing to her. "I… I know, Master." she said, resting her head on my chest.

We stayed like that for the longest time. Snowy pulled away, and simply watched me stare into her eyes.

I couldn't hold myself back. I leaned forward and gently kissed her. She followed my example, softly kissing me back, as our arms rewrapped around each other.

I even managed to forget about my troubles for a brief moment while I kissed her. I never wanted to stop. I want this kiss to last.

I didn't want to remember what was going on…

 _Some time later…_

…

…

"Come on…"

We were out. Well, almost.

The exit was a few doors ahead of us. My stuff was back with me. We were gonna make it!

Snowy was panting besides me. We had been running for a long time now. Several close calls were made, one almost fatal. But now, the end was close, freedom was right there…!

"Come on! We're almost there, Snowy!" I said, before turning back to the exit. The last thing I ever wanted to see was there.

"So, out for a late night run, are we?" Silk said, smiling cruelly.

Diana was next to her, her bow drawn and ready to fire. "Please, just follow us back to the cell. We don't have to fight."

"Then just let us go already!" I yelled, pulling out my own bow and preparing to fire. "I know my way around a bow, you know!"

"Ugh… dammit! Just let us take you back already!" Silk said, getting mad. "Or else we will have to use force!"

And then Snowy couldn't take it anymore. She just wanted to be free.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" she yelled, charging Silk and tackling her to the floor.

Diana looked like she wanted to help, but didn't want to get close to Snowy. She held up her bow, but I stepped in, bow already drawn.

"Don't even dare." I said, my tone deathly serious.

Snowy was going full on attack mode. She kept trying to scratch Silk, but the nimble spider lady managed to keep dodging every time. Silk tried to retaliate by biting Snowy, but Snowy was able to dodge her attempts as well.

I shot an arrow at Diana, but she rolled out of the way before it hit her. She fired back quickly, but I retaliated with my sword, knocking the arrow away safely. I charged forward and swung, but she dodged quickly, backing up.

Meanwhile, Snowy seemed to be winning her end of the fight. Silk was slowing down, and having a harder time getting a chance to try and hurt Snowy. Snowy finally got a lucky blow on Silk's leg, cutting her leg and forcing her back.

"Gah… D-damn it all…" Silk muttered painfully. Blood soaked her lower leg, and she looked even more pissed than before. "You just sealed your fate, mutt!"

She jumped forward suddenly, catching Snowy off guard. The two fought again, fist to fist.

Diana looked worried. "No… she's gonna kill herself with her leg like that! I… I have to!"

"What are you…" I started, before seeing a lone arrow fly past me.

Straight at Silk and Snowy.

Before I could even shout out, the arrow passed under Silk's arm…

And straight into Snowy's chest.

And suddenly, I lost all of my will to fight.

"N… NO!" I yelled, pushing Silk away and holding Snowy, who had fallen over. I knew instantly when I saw the arrow that it had pierced her heart, or at least a little bit of it.

"Snowy! Snowy!" I yelled, shaking her.

With difficulty, she managed to look up at me. Her eyes… they were cloudy.

"M… M… Master…" she said softly.

"Snowy! Stay with me Snowy!" I said, holding her tightly.

"Was… was I… a good protector…?" she asked me lightly.

"Snowy, no, stay with me! Stay with me…" I said, my voice cracking.

"Was I… a good dog…" she asked again, her eyes becoming less focused.

"N… no… Snowy… don't… don't leave me…" I pleaded, tears forming in my eyes.

"Was I…" she asked again.

I was silent for the count of five, before I feebly said, "Y-y-yes… y-you did good… S-Snowy…"

"*sigh*... I… I was…" she said, her eyes glazing over. "Your best puppy…"

"Y-yes… you absolutely w-were…" I said, tears falling on her limp body. "Please… don't g-go…"

"Good… girl…" she said, before her eyes gently closed.

And her body became limp in my arms.

…

…

…

…

"No… no… no… this can't be happening…"

"Master! Wake up!"

"No… please don't be dead… Snowy…"

"Master, please! Wake up!"

"Sno-... huh?"

My eyes slowly opened. I was on my back. Snowy was by my side. Looking at me worried. She… she was okay!

Then I remembered: once we parted, I decided that the best course of action would be to sleep and wait. Snowy took first watch, in case someone decided to 'visit' us.

The first thing I did was sit up and pull her into a hug. I couldn't help it. I swear that I just saw her die in front of me. But…

It was all just a sick nightmare.

"Snowy… Snowy… you're okay…!" I said, so joyful that tears were falling.

"M-Master!" she said, surprised at me. She wasn't expecting that from me, I guess. "Wh-what happened?"

"I-I-I had… the worst… n-nightmare… y-you died… in front of me…" I said, my voice shaking heavily.

Snowy must have been shocked. "I-I… I died? In your nightmare?"

"Y… yes…" I muttered. "Snowy… thank Notch… I really… thought… you were gone…"

She gently hugged me back tighter, saying something like, "I'm here, I'm here." and, "I'm fine, I'm okay."

I couldn't help but let tears fall. What else could I have done? I was so scared that I just lost someone I held dear to my heart… again.

But she was okay. We were okay. Even if we were in a cell.

"Snowy… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" I said, saying random gibberish at this point. I couldn't help it…

"Master…" she said, hugging me tightly and rubbing my back as I cried my eyes out.

My sobs of relief echoed through the halls of this prison. We stayed like that for… how long was it? Five minutes? More? I couldn't tell.

I… I wasn't sure if we could get out now. Not because we wouldn't be able to, but…

Would my fear let me? The fear of having dream become reality? I don't know… before, I would've thought that we would be invincible. That we could get out before you could even count to five, and be no worse for wear.

But now… now doubt was settling in. The idea that we could die… it suddenly stuck out to me.

A skeleton passed by our cell, probably attracted by the sound we were making. It smacked the bars of our cell, probably talking in whatever language it spoke in.

Snowy looked at it, a fire in her eyes. "Go away! Can't you see my Master is upset?!

The skeleton backed off quickly, realizing Snowy was a wolf. It speed walked away, clattering all the way.

Snowy instantly went back to comfort mode. "It's okay Master… I'm okay, you're okay… we're all okay."

"Yeah, for now." a familiar voice said. We looked up to see Silk looking at us through the bars. Diana wasn't in sight, but I imagined she was close by.

"What do you want now?" Snowy asked angrily, still hugging me as the last of my tears finally dried up.

"I'm taking you two back to the other room." Silk explained. "The deal is on."

"What… what deal?" I asked.

"That'll come when you come with me." Silk said, opening the door. "Get out here."

Snowy and I made no attempts to move. Maybe if I hadn't just woken up from that nightmare, I would've gone to get this over with, but now I was NOT going to leave with her.

"Well?" Silk asked, becoming impatient. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you know. I have my orders."

We still made no attempt to move.

"Oh really? Playing that card, huh?" Silk asked, quickly losing patience. "Alright then…"

Silk walked into the cell. Snowy growled and stood in front of me. "Stay. Away. From. My. Master."

"Yeah, sure. Now be a good dog and sit." Silk said.

"Like hell I will." Snowy replied, her eyes going red.

And out of nowhere, Silk threw something that hit Snowy dead on. I almost shouted, but realized that Silk just threw… spider silk.

Snowy instantly became tangled in the webs. She tried to get out, only to get even more stuck. "Let me go!"

"Yeah, I will. Once we get to where we're going." Silk said, her voice triumphant. She looked at me. "You want that too?"

I didn't say anything. I just looked at Snowy and tried to have a conversation with my eyes.

'Snowy, just calm down…'

'She's not nice at all!'

'I know that. Just… relax, and go with it for now.'

'Wha…?'

'I will get us out of here. But right now, you fighting back is not gonna help.'

'But…'

'Just follow my example.'

I stood up, and dusted off my pants, wiped my glasses, and spoke only once.

"Well… let's go."

"I knew you'd see reason." Silk said, tying my hands behind my back. But… she made it way looser than she did before. Maybe she DID have a heart.

"Come on Snowy." I said. "Let's go already. Sooner we go, sooner you get out."

Snowy clearly wasn't ready to give up, but I guess she decided that I at least had a plan. I didn't, but I did want to at least give us a CHANCE to get out of here.

And so, I followed in line behind Silk, Snowy close behind, still trying to shake the webs off her.

'What the hell do these people need from me?' I thought.

I would find out soon enough.

Soon enough.

 **Well that was dark.**

 **Oh well! Enough darkness for now! It's time to talk!**

 **So, first off, thank you all for reading the new chapter! I can't thank each and every one of you enough.**

 **And second of all: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I can't believe that we made it! This story is, officially, one year old! YAY!**

 **Of course, I know that I promised that this chapter wouldn't come out in two months. In all honesty, the chapter was pretty much done a while ago, just needed some tweaks here and there. I would've posted a lot earlier, but my logic was this: if I wait and post it now, there's no chance that I can miss the one year deadline.**

 **So, once again: Happy Anniversary! And thank you all so much! This would only be possible because of you all. I never would've thought that my work could be liked by others, but you all showed me! I treasure each and every one of you awesome readers. Thank you all so much, for the support, the comments, the review, the favs, the follows… everything!**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your MC username, what server, and when. And of course, my server is still open. I possibly might be resetting it soon, in order to have a bit more play time with you guys. I haven't been on a whole lot, mostly because everyone seems stronger than me. If I reset, then we'd all be on the same level. Of course, I'd keep the world we already have, but I'll just start a new save file or something. Should I?**

 **This is ButterHunter, and I wish you all happy days, love, life, and prosperity. Until next time guys, stay awesome!**


	34. The Aura

**HOLY HELL I DID IT!**

 **Finally, a new chapter that didn't take a month to get out! Is it a full moon or something?!**

 **What's going on guys, it's ButterHunter here, and welcome back to another chapter!**

 **Let's just get straight in!**

Chapter 34: The Aura

We slowly walked down the dark, gloomy halls of this prison. Silk, the spider, me, and Snowy (still with spider silk in her face).

We kept going corner after corner, hallway after hallway. My legs were growing tired, yet we kept walking further and further.

We saw lots of skeletons and spiders here. Some looked like they were standing guard, and others looked like they were training for something. Most watched us as we passed, staring particularly at me. I guess that escaping with force would be damn near impossible.

Finally, we entered one last door and found our destination: A long table, with some food on it. Diana was here, standing against the wall, I guess waiting for us.

"About time you showed up." Diana said, walking over to Silk.

"They took time to get out of the cell." Silk said, glancing particularly over at Snowy with distaste.

"Whatever. Let's get them cleaned up." Diana said.

She came over to me and freed my hands again. Silk started pulling out the silk in Snowy's hair. Once my hands were free I went over and pulled it off of Snowy's hands as well.

Diana LOOKED like she wanted to help, but she was still rather scared of Snowy, and couldn't force herself to get close enough to help.

Even so, eventually the silk was gone from Snowy's body, clumped up in a small pile in Silk's hands. "Can… can you please not do that again?"

Silk nodded, even she agreed that getting the threads out of Snowy's hair was bad. "Definitely not."

"Okay, now… you two, please, sit." Diana said, gesturing over to the table, with food prepared.

I instantly didn't trust it. "Umm… no thanks. I'm not hungry right now." I said, hoping my voice hid my light stomach moan.

"Y-yeah. I'm not h-hungry either." Snowy said, holding herself back from the bacon on the table.

Diana shrugged, taking a seat on the other side of the table. "Suit yourself. Sit."

We did so, and the smell of the food became all the more enticing up close. Snowy was on the verge of drooling, but held herself back. We had no idea what they did to this food. For all we know, there could be poison in this stuff.

"Geez, if you're hungry, take something." Silk said, grabbing some eggs herself and starting to munch.

I glanced over at Snowy, unsure. No way Silk would've grabbed some if it WAS poisoned, but… are they planning something?

In any case, Snowy made the first move and took a small piece of bacon, nibbling it slowly. It must have tasted normal, because she took a few more pieces as well as some toast. I trusted her judgement, so I carefully took some for myself.

The four of us sat in an awkward silence while we ate. While it wasn't Susie's cooking, it was pretty good.

Soon enough everything was gone. "That was good." Snowy said, breaking the quiet.

"Not my best, but glad you two liked it." Diana said quietly. "Anyway, now that the food is gone, we need to talk to you two."

I leaned forward, still very cautious about them. "And that is…?"

"First, formalities." Silk said. "I assume you'd like to know about this place?"

Snowy and I nodded. "Well, to put it simply, you are in the Spider and Skeleton Corps headquarters, or S&S Corps. We took you here because we need to ask something of you, human."

Mild irritation of calling me 'human' aside, I knew better than to just believe that. "Aaaaand…?"

"We need help getting something from a human settlement." Diana said. "It's… complicated, but, something that will help spiders and skeletons out a lot."

"I don't follow." I said.

"*sigh*... okay, we'll back up." Silk said, clearly expecting that response. "For years, many monsters have made friends with others they like, and enemies with the ones they don't."

"One of those in the like group are skeletons and spiders." Diana supported. "Well… kinda. I guess we… tolerate each other better."

"For the most part, most of the two races simply accept each other. I mean, we'll share food and water sometimes, and a place to sleep for a day, but not much further beyond that."

"Okay…" Snowy said, taking all this in.

"But there are groups like us." Diana said enthusiastically. "Groups that want to work together. Groups that see a great power in working together. Unfortunately, those like us are few and far in between."

"So what's so important about having us here, then?" I asked.

"Simple. Long, long ago, there was a ruler, a skeleton ruler, who brought the two races together, for a time. His guidance made both races benefit greatly. But somehow, he was killed. The skeletons thought it was the spiders, and vise versa." Silk recounted.

"Of course, that was years before any of us were born, so there's no guarantee that either story is the truth, but…" Diana said slowly. "Either way, the clans have… had a manageable relationship since then."

"But we intend to fix it." Silk said, slamming her fist on the table. "The skeleton king may be long dead, go figure, but his crown is still out there somewhere. If we can find it, we just might be able to resolve the cracks in our people."

"..." I stayed quiet, as did Snowy.

"So, really, this is simple." Diana said. "We need you." she added, looking at me.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. Then I realized that they wanted me to say something.

"Look, I… I'm just a guy who wants to get out of here. I'm not about to help the monsters that stalk me every night when I'm outside." I said.

"Look." Silk said, leaning forward. "I really want to get you out here too, because you're kinda starting to annoy me. But if you don't help, then we will have no choice but to get rid of you. PERMANENTLY."

"Like hell you will." I said gruffly. "I'm sorry. Find another human to do your dirty work. I'm not doing this. You're better off showing us to the door."

Diana sighed. Clearly she had expected something like that response. Then, I saw her get an idea.

"Come with me for a second…" she said, standing up and swiftly getting to the door.

Silk looked just as confused as I did. "Diana, what are you…?"

"Just trust me on this one." Diana replied, still looking at me.

I slowly stood up and started heading over to her cautiously. Now that I got a good look at her, she's not as tall as me, but quite taller than Snowy, for sure.

Snowy started to follow after me, but Diana held up her hands. "Snowy, I promise you that I will not do anything wrong to him, I swear. But I just need him for a minute."

Snowy didn't like that. "But… can't you show me too?"

"I have to show him, and him alone." Diana said quickly.

Snowy looked over to me. Even if she didn't like it, she'd follow my word.

'Well… Diana hasn't made any attempts to harm me yet.' my thoughts go. 'And… I'm kinda curious what she wants to show me anyway.'

"You stay here Snowy. I'm sure this is nothing bad." I said, hoping that I was right.

Clearly she didn't want to, but she made herself sit back down in her little chair as Diana nodded. "I would never do that. Especially since I'd have to handle her if I did."

"Damn right you would." Snowy muttered, but only Silk and I heard her.

"Now…" Diana spoke up as we left the room. "...um… oh my Notch, I'm so sorry. I… never asked for your name."

"Oh… it's, uh… Cameron." I said slowly.

"Cameron…" Diana repeated. "That's… a nice name."

"Thanks?"

"It was a compliment." Diana said. "Now, follow me."

 _Snowy POV…_

"Mmm…"

"What's gotten into you?" Silk said behind me. I didn't hear her.

I was still watching that door, even though Master was already long gone. Something wasn't sitting right with me. Maybe had something to do with Diana, the skeleton, leading my master away. After all, skeletons are the sworn enemy of wolves…

"Hellooo? Anyone here?" Silk said, snapping her fingers.

I blinked back to reality. "Oh, sorry… were you saying something?"

"Yeah. What's your deal?" Silk said, looking into my eyes.

I looked at the ground. "What… what do you mean?"

"You've been really, really antsy since we found you." Silk said. "We brought you back to your friend, we gave you a decent meal… then he leaves, and you mutter threats to my friend. What's. Your. Deal."

I growled slightly. "I care about my master."

"Why?"

"WHY?" I suddenly yelled, catching her off guard. "Because he took me in. He gave me a home, when I had none. He cared for me, like no one ever did. He worries about me, when no one else does. He is my master, and I am sworn to protect him, and be by his side. So yeah, my DEAL is that I will stop at nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, to protect him."

For the count of five, all was quiet. Silk watched my angry breathing with surprise.

Then, she… laughed. "Wow. Those were words of a warrior right there."

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"I respect anyone who has a spine. At first, you just seemed like a whiney little dog. But that speech you just made? That changed my mind. You're not a whiner. You're a fighter."

"..."

"And… I…" Silk said, suddenly getting quiet. "I can relate to your story a bit. I was lost, and had no home myself. And then I found Diana, and her people. They all welcomed me like lost family. I… I felt joy again, elation, even."

Silk had my full attention at this point. "I know what it's like out there. You get one shot in this world to be normal. You can be either a human, or a 'mob' as some call us, but that's it. So when someone like us comes along, a half monster, it's brutal. You can't pass off as a human because you look or sound different, but you can't exactly be a monster either because you look human."

Tears were building up in the pits of Silk's eyes. "We aren't normal. We are called freaks, mutations, mix-ups. All because we had abnormal parents…"

At that point, Silk seemed to lose control. Tears gently streamed down her cheeks, and her head rested on her arms, gently sobbing into the table.

I realized what she meant. My story must have sparked something inside of her. It reminded her of her life. Her struggles. Her pain. And now, she was releasing what seemed like her true emotions, in what seemed like… a really long time.

"I'm normal! I'm normal! I'm normal…" Silk yelled, sobbing in her arms louder.

I couldn't just sit there. I crawled off my chair and down to her, and gently patted her back.

She seemed surprised by that. She looked up and saw me, gently patting her still. "Wh-what are you doing?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I hugged her. My instincts told me it would be a good idea.

"H-hey! Let go!" Silk said, struggling at first. Then, she felt something. I guess… relief? Whatever it was, she slowly stopped struggling.

"W-why… why are you hugging me… even after knowing that we took you away… why?" she asked me.

I answered simply: "Because everyone needs someone to hug."

She didn't say anything. Emotions came back to her again, and she started crying again. But this time, she hugged me back.

I rubbed her back, and whispered, "Shhhh… it's okay… everything is fine… shhhh…"

I know I should've still been mad at her, for what she and Diana did to me and Master. And I still was, don't get me wrong. But now wasn't a time to be mad. Silk was alone. She hid it very, very well with a tough, business-like exterior, but… deep down, she wanted someone to care. Someone to be nice, even if she didn't want it. Someone to lean on, even if she was standing just fine.

Right now, I could be that person. And I would be too, until she felt better.

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Earlier…_

"Sooo… where are we going again?" I asked.

"Just follow me. I'll explain in a minute." Diana said.

We kept going through the hallways of this place. I figured it was underground, given how much we could walk in one direction and keep going, and how many stairways there were.

Finally, a minute later we found a slightly ajar door, leading to another, deserted room. It kinda looked like an abandoned office or something, because there was a small, plain desk with a paper or two on it, and on the wall had a lone, dusty clock. Unless it was broken, it indicated that the time was early morning, which meant I slept the whole night in the cell.

"Okay… why are we here?" I asked while Diana closed the door behind her. Nothing seemed very special about this room.

"I just wanted to talk alone for a minute." Diana said. "Why won't you help us?"

"Oh gee, I don't know, might have to do with the whole KIDNAPING thing!" I said.

"I get that." Diana said, stepping forward to me. "But still… we need help. Can't you give us help?"

"Look. If you REALLY needed a human, there could've been a much better way to do so." I said. "As of right now, I'm not even considering helping you."

"And I still understand that." Diana said, stepping even closer. She was getting a bit too close, so I half-stepped back. "But… it'll get you out of here. If you help, we'll never have to worry about each other again."

"I kinda have a hard time believing that." I said. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust people I just met that well."

"Please?" Diana said, practically standing on top of me and grabbing my shoulders. "Pretty please? We really need your help!"

"Like I said, the answer is no!" I said, pushing her hands off my shoulders and stepping back even more.

But then I ran out of room. The wall of the room was right behind me. Diana took advantage of this, and stepped to me again.

I tried to get around her, but she forced me backwards every time I tried.

Until I was cornered.

I didn't realize it until it was too late that she had backed me up into the far corner of this room, as far away from the door as you could get. Diana used this to stand right in front of me, looking at me almost sadly.

"Come on… pleeeeaaase?" she said slowly, leaning forward and gently touching my chest. "I promise it'll be worth your while…"

This was getting too uncomfortable for my tastes. "N-no! Get off me!"

"But I don't wanna…" Diana said even slower, batting her eyes gently at me. "In fact… I want to be closer…"

"Wha-" I started to say, but was interrupted when she suddenly clamped her arms around me. Her eyes gaze gently into mine, saying without speaking, "Please?"

"N-No! I'm not gonna…" I started, trying to squirm out of her grasp.

She still looked at me. Not saying anything, just… watching me.

"I… I won't…" I said, slowing down against my will.

Silence.

"I… I…"

She said nothing.

Then, it clicked. 'I-I know! Vivianna, Aira! They can help! Guys! I need help out here!'

But nothing happened. I didn't feel a calming sensation, nor an energy boost.

'G-guys! Come on! Help!' I yelled in my head again.

Panic rose in my chest as I heard nothing from them.

'W-what? Wh-where are you guys?!' I yelled one last time.

Still no response.

I tried to concentrate on those two. Surely they weren't ignoring me at a time like this, right?

Slowly, I could faintly make out a voice in my mind… very faint. It said something along the lines of, " _Cam… we… not… someth… on your own… trying to…"_

That was all I could hear before it faded out completely. 'Wh-what… why are they…"

Diana's grip suddenly tightened on me, forcing my attention back to her. "Pleeeeeaaaasssse?" she softly begged again. Her eyes… were they… shinier?

Slowly, a lone tear ran down her cheek, falling onto the floor. Was… was I about to make her cry? Because I won't help?

'Dammit… not the crying tactic again…' I moaned internally.

I hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but eventually, I gave up. "I… fine. I'll… help you…"

Diana's face lit up. "Really? You will?"

"Because you forced me too…" I muttered. I don't know if she heard me, but if she did, she hid it from me.

"I knew you'd help!" she said, hugging me tighter, pushing her bust more in my chest. I was trying to ignore it, but that was much easier said than done.

While I was being hugged, I couldn't help but remember that… Diana was almost ice cold. The same feeling of her clinging to my warmth struck me again, but this time… I didn't ask her to get off.

Rather, I felt that this time I should do something. So I gently, cautiously, wrapped my arms around her, trying to warm her up a bit. Diana seemed to like that. She squeezed me tighter, pushing herself as close to me, and my warmth I guess, as she could.

I had to admit: this reaction was kinda cute. While she was really cold, I… couldn't help but feel better. I don't know. Maybe it was just satisfaction that I was doing something good?

And then Diana remembered her place. "Oh! I'm… I'm sorry." she said, pulling away quickly. A few awkward seconds were spent as we stared at each other, Diana blushing slightly.

"Um…" I started, breaking the silence. "Just a random question, but have you ever considered wearing something more… covering? Like a nice sweater?"

"I… I tried once. It was uncomfortable." Diana said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "This is the only outfit that feels comfortable and doesn't restrict me as an archer."

"I-I see…" I said. "Well… maybe you'd feel less cold if you tried it, you know?"

"I know, I know." Diana said longingly. "I like warmth, but… I don't want to be uncomfortable."

We kinda stood there in an awkward silence again for a minute, until Diana cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um… I… can… can I… um… hug you… again?"

I'm pretty sure my own blinking was easily heard for a few seconds when she asked that. "I… I mean… I… I guess? I really don't know how to respond to that…" I got out.

"I'm just asking you if it's… okay to." Diana said softly, looking slightly red in her cheeks. "I would never try to if you felt… something wrong with it."

"I.. I mean… there's nothing wrong with it, but… I was just… surprised, I guess." I said, awkwardly rubbing my neck. "You can… go ahead if you want."

With a lot more hesitation than the last two times, Diana slowly hugs me again, still with a light blush on her face. Once she settles in, I feel her almost instantly relax again, as if she was never nervous in the first place.

I slowly and gently hug her back, earning a small hum of approval from the skeleton girl. Why I did this, I don't know. Just 'cause?

In any case, she seemed to be even more clingy to me this time, maybe because this time I gave her permission? Whatever the case, I leaned into the wall to get a better grip on Diana…

When I slipped, sending me falling onto my back.

As if THAT wasn't bad enough, Diana was also sent falling with me. But the way she landed on top of me…

All of the sudden my face was right in her bust.

I froze internally. I literally couldn't move, even though I really, REALLY wanted to. Red hot fear was freezing my bones in place.

"Oh Notch!" Diana said, not realizing what just happened. "Are… are you okay?"

I tried to say something, but it was muffled. Diana realized what was going on and sat up, blushing herself.

"I'msorryIwasn'ttryinganythingyou'rechestwasinmyfacepleasedon'tkillme!" I pleaded quickly. Diana could only blush even heavier in response.

I was trying my best to not look down from Diana's face. The last thing I wanted was to be accused of being a pervert now of all times.

We stared at each other for a long time. Way, WAY too long, but still, we needed calm down a bit. Finally, Diana realized she was still sitting on me, and hastily stood up off of me. She held her hand out to me, and I took it gently.

I stood, trying to ignore the slight pain in the back of my skull, and the burning sensation still in my face. Then Diana cleared her throat. "Umm… maybe we should head back now…"

"Ohh… right." I said, just remembering that we left Snowy with Silk back in the other room.

We walked in silence, other than our steps echoing softly on the stone floor.

"You… you don't know how happy this makes me." Diana said quietly, her hand gently cupping my shoulder. "That… you agreed to help us."

"Like you really gave me any other choice…" I muttered. "I don't want to help, I want to get out."

Diana pulled me off to the side of the hallway. "I will get you out. I promise."

Doubtful still, I asked, "You promise?" with mild sass.

"Cross my heart, on Notch's holy name." Diana said seriously.

Our return trip continued from that point without issue. The only thing I really noticed was that… Diana seemed… squirmy around me. Not in an embarrassed way, no…

More like she wanted to hug me again.

Listen, I like hugs as much as the next guy, but… this girl was taking it a bit far. I mean, even SNOWY never…

Okay, that's a lie. Snowy did hug me WAY more than Diana.

I guess… Diana is way too forward about it. I mean, what would another person's response be to this question: "I'm really cold. Can I hug you to warm myself?"

And then… there was… 'that' that happened. That was beyond embarrassing. Once or twice I had to catch myself, or my gaze would've found it's way back to her breasts again. 'NO! Bad Cameron!' I said in my mind the second time. 'Now is not the time for that!'

'But it's right there.'

'That's no reason to stare!'

'But she might like it. After all, why would she show it off if she didn't?'

'And if she doesn't?'

'Who cares about that? Look at them again!'

'Shut up!'

I was pulled out of my conflicting thoughts suddenly, when Diana stopped me in front of the door. "*sigh*... looks like I don't really have a choice, huh?" I asked, remembering how I gave in.

Diana shook her head. "Not really, no."

I sighed. "Well… I guess if it gets me out easier…"

With that thought out of the way, we entered the room.

Snowy and Silk were still sitting down at the table, seemingly in deep conversation. "...and like I was saying, that place was nasty. The smell alone could-" Silk was saying, stopping once she saw Diana and I entering.

"Oh hey you two." Silk said, nodding in my direction.

Snowy looked up, and her face lit up. "Master!" she called out, standing up and running over to me.

She pulled me in one of her hugs again. I did my best to walk over and sit down in a chair with her half-attached to me.

But for once, Silk… didn't seem to mind this behavior. In fact… she seemed to gently smile at Snowy. I was rather confused by this, but right now, I had other things to worry about.

Anyway, once Snowy pulled herself off of me and Diana had sat down, Silk looked at me, and asked one more time, "So… are you going to help us, or not?"

I sighed once, before glancing over at Diana. She was looking at me, with… expectant eyes. She knew what my answer was most likely going to be.

But she wanted to make sure that I was going to be cooperative, I guess.

And then I looked at the ground. And only muttered one sentence.

"Fine… I'll help you."

Silk looked honestly surprised at me when I glanced up. Diana, on the other hand, looked very, very happy at me.

And then, I thought of something perfect.

"IF!" I shouted, catching everyone off guard. "If… and only if… whatever we have to do, you two have to help as well. That is the ONLY reason I will help."

Silk and Diana stared at me for a long time, before they huddled together to talk. Seeing her chance, Snowy leaned over to me and whispered, "Master? What are you doing? I thought we…"

"I changed my mind." I said in the same whisper. "But if they really want us to do this 'job', then they have to prove they want it badly. Otherwise… I'm not even going to lift a finger to help."

Just as I leaned back into my seat, Silk and Diana seemed to wrap up their talk and looked over at me.

"So…" Silk said, eyeing me closely. "You suddenly agree to help, but only if we… accompany you?"

I nodded. "I don't care if we have to go to hell to do this 'job'." I air-quoted. "Unless you two come with us while we do it, I'm not helping in the slightest. That is final on my end."

Diana and Silk both glanced at each other, most likely having a silent conversation. Silk seemed… almost impressed. Why, I couldn't say, but she definitely had some sort of new respect towards me. And Diana… well, I couldn't really say much. If I had to say something, she just looked… surprised at my terms. But hey, even I had to have some sort of leverage in this. After all, do I look like I want to sign up for a suicide mission?

If they denied, there was a high likelihood that this job they had for me was life-threatening, and that would instantly change my mind. On the other hand, if they did agree, that didn't meant this job wouldn't be dangerous, but I would know that they are at least willing to go that extra mile to help their races.

Something that I could deeply respect.

After a few more seconds of stalling, Diana and Silk looked back at me. "...fine. We agree to those terms. We will help you during this job we have, and in return, if it is done well, we will let you go. Deal?" Silk said, sticking out her hand.

I looked at it for a brief moment, before, clasping her hand firmly with my own. "Deal." I said, as we shook on it.

"So… what's the job anyway? And be VERY detailed, please." I said after the handshake was done.

"It's simple." Diana said. "That crown from the old skeleton king is out there somewhere. If we can find it, we can reunite the skeletons and spiders peacefully."

"And we have enough reason to know where it might be next." Silk said, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out something.

"This paper is a conversation or something I overheard while I was out on a scouting mission close one of the nearby cities." she explained, handing me the paper. Snowy leaned over to look at it as I read:

" _Is the artifact in the safe zone?"_

" _I'm sure of it. How did we find that dusty old thing anyway?"_

" _Not sure. It was buried in the ground. Seems, well, kinda morbid, considering it's made of bones, but hey, at least it's something unique."_

"Made of bones, buried in the ground, and old." Diana repeated once I finished reading. "Those, to me, are proof that the crown was delivered somewhere to that nearby city."

"Yeah, but…" I said, hesitant. "The way they said, 'Made of bones' seems kinda loose to me. I mean, how do we know for sure that it's the crown and not just some fossil or something?"

"We don't." Silk admitted. "We have no way of knowing that. But there is enough evidence for it to be the crown to convince me."

Doubt was still heavy in my mind, but I nevertheless pressed on. "Okay… so say it is the crown. What's our plan of attack?"

"For right now, nothing." Diana said quietly. "We need more information to go on. But you can bet that we will try our hardest to get the intel."

"In the meantime, we need to see what you can do." Silk said, standing up herself. "First, you." she said, pointing at me.

Snowy, who had remained rather quiet up to this point, spoke up again. "Wait, what about me?"

"I'll be back soon, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna hurt him, I promise." Silk said. "Diana, can you keep watch on her for a few?"

Diana looked at Silk as if she was crazy. "K-keep watch on…"

"Yes, keep watch on Snowy. Come on, it isn't that hard." Silk said, waving for me to follow her to the door. I couldn't help but notice… Silk used Snowy's name properly now. Did something happen between these two while I was gone?

I glanced at Snowy, who was watching me again for my response.

"Stay put Snowy." I said quickly. "I promise I won't take long, wherever this is going."

Snowy clearly didn't like that, but she stayed sitting nonetheless. Diana was eyeing her very, very closely, almost shaking out of fear.

"Okay…" Silk said as we left the room. "Oh yeah, what was your name again?"

"Um… Cameron." I said quickly, eyeing the spider nervously.

"What are you staring at?" Silk asked.

"Just… being cautious." I said slowly.

Silk seemed to snicker at that. "I said I wasn't gonna hurt you, didn't I? What, don't trust me?"

I stared at her in a 'are you joking, or…?' kind of way.

"Whatever. Now, follow me."

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Snowy POV…_

"Mmmm…"

I whined a little bit as Master left the room again. Why did they only need him, and not me? I'm strong. I can help.

But I was pulled out of my thought's, when I remembered that Diana, the skeleton girl, was behind me, still sitting at the table.

Well, shaking was a more accurate word. She was half looking at me, half watching for sudden movements, I guess.

"*sigh*..." I sighed. "This is starting to get annoying…"

"Wh-wh-what is?" Diana stuttered out.

I looked up at her. "You know… I'm not _that_ scary."

"I… it c-can't be helped…" Diana said nervously. "I… I shake when I'm near a wolf…"

"But you weren't shaking before…" I said.

"Th-that's because I had Silk, and him there." Diana explained, scooting away from the table a small bit.

Seeing her shake like that… my comforting side was wanting to come out again. "You look like you need someone to hug." I said calmly.

"H-h-hug?" she asked, confused and afraid. "N-no, I'm fine… just as long as those two don't take long…"

"You really do look like you need a hug…" I said, scooting out of my seat. Diana saw that, and instantly began to sweat.

"H-h-h-hey… c-come on… s-stay put… p-please…" Diana said, scooting further away from me.

"I'm not scary." I said sweetly. "I promise. I won't hurt you, as long as you don't hurt me or Master."

"I-I-I wouldn't ever DARE hurt either or you!" Diana half shouted out of fear.

"Exactly." I said, moving slightly closer. At this point, Diana stood up and moved to the wall. "Hey, come on. I just want one thing."

"Wh-wh-what is that?" Diana asked, fearful.

"Just pet my head. I promise it'll make you feel a little better." I said, presenting her with the top of my head.

Diana shook her head furiously. "N-nonono! I-I'm fine! I-I'm already-"

"Pleeeaaase?" I asked. I used my Puppy Eyes again, and I could tell that even through the fear, Diana was slowly giving into curiosity. Her thought process must've been something like, 'Is she… really not gonna hurt me?'

Eventually, a good minute or so later, a shaky hand barely reached out towards me. I waited.

Slowly, she made her hand come closer to me. I stayed still.

Even though she was really, really tense, she managed to come within arm's length of me. Her hand was almost there…

And then she touched my head.

She backed away suddenly, as if she had hit me and was waiting for me to attack. When that didn't happen, she carefully approached again, and let her whole hand touch my head.

"That's it…" I said softly, just loud enough for her to hear. "You're doing fine…"

Her hand gently rubbed the top of my head, as if she was testing my reaction. It felt… surprisingly nice, despite only being a light touch.

I pushed my head gently into her hand, saying without words, "More…"

She hesitated, but I could tell she was relaxing. Her hand pressed down a little more firmly, and I gently moaned a little in happiness.

Diana seemed a bit more warmed up at least. She got down to a knee to get a bit better leverage, and pet me even more. I scooted closer to her without my knowledge, but I didn't care. I wanted to savor the petting…

And then it stopped. I glanced up, and Diana was looking at me… a bit scared. "S-sorry… you moved suddenly, and it startled me…" she said quietly.

"O-oh…" I said, before realizing her hand was still on top of my head. I gently reached up and tried to touch it, but Diana pulled it off before I could.

We didn't say anything for some time. Honestly, it was a bit awkward. Then again, Diana was pretty much confronting one of her biggest fears right now, so… yeah, awkwardness would probably happen.

I gently looked over her again. I didn't give it much thought before, but… she really was kinda underdressed, wasn't she?

"Hey… Diana?" I asked quietly. "Why… why are you wearing that?"

"W-why?" she asked, looking down at her clothes again. "Because… it just suits me. It fits good, and it doesn't make being an archer any harder."

"I can understand that, but…" I said, glancing particularly at her chest region. "I don't know, it seems like you'd get a cold wearing just that every day."

I said it casually, but once I finished speaking Diana looked… almost sad. Did… did I say something wrong?

"H-hey… did… did I say something?" I asked quietly, quickly. "I-I didn't mean to be pushy, or anything, I really didn-"

"No… no, you weren't rude or anything." Diana assured me quickly. "Just…"

And just then, a light shiver passed through Diana. So light actually, that I almost didn't catch it. But I did see it. And in that second, I understood.

"You… you do get cold, huh?" I asked softly.

Diana seemed to sigh gently, before glancing back up at me. "Y… yeah. You got me. I don't really know why, but… no matter what I wear, even if it's a sweater or something, it… doesn't seem to be enough. If I had to guess… it's because I'm part skeleton. After all, most skeleton's wouldn't have to worry about cold or heat, because they have nothing other than bones to worry about. But… I feel really cold all the time. I got used to it, but… still, I can't help but wonder… what it feels like to be warm…"

"Don't you ever get out under the sun much?" I asked, before realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course she couldn't. Skeletons burn in sunlight, so naturally that fear would probably extend to her as well. That did raise the question about how she came to our house, though...

Diana seemed even more down by that. She let her head hang, which caused her hat to fall off her head and land in front of my lap. Slowly, I could see that she was breaking down. I… I had asked the wrong question this time.

"I… I'm afraid… to stand out… in the sun…" she murmured, before breaking down completely. Silent tears slowly dripped down her face, landing gently on the floor. I knew instantly that I had to do SOMETHING. I couldn't just leave her there, crying her eyes out.

So I did the first thing I could think of. I gently reached out, and patted her shoulder. She flinched badly, but then realized it was a friendly gesture, so she somewhat relaxed again.

I kept patting her shoulder for a little bit, hoping that would calm her down. Thankfully, it did, and the tears slowly stopped falling. She sniffled a few more times, and then looked up at me.

"I… I'm so sorry…" I said quietly, feeling my eyes become slightly shiny myself. "I… I didn't mean to… make you cry…"

Diana looked at the ground for a minute, before chuckling slightly. "I… I know you didn't. S-sorry… I let instinct take control for a minute."

"I… I'm really sorry…" I said softly.

"It… it's fine. I swear." Diana said gently.

I wrung my hand a little, hanging my head. Diana tried gently rubbing my head again to calm me, but she didn't see what was coming.

I hugged her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, (ironic knowing she's a skeleton) and started shaking badly. "H-hey! Wh-wh-what are you doing?!"

I didn't say anything. I simply just hugged her gently. She… she was so cold. Unnaturally cold. But I still hugged her all the same.

I could feel the tension loosen in Diana, slowly as she realized that I was just trying to comfort her.

"W-why… are you so peaceful to me?" Diana asked, half nervous, half curious. "I… I thought wolves hated skeletons…"

"We do…" I admitted. "But that doesn't mean they can't get along."

Diana thought about my words for a minute, watching me hug her tightly. It was still cold, but… I think she liked it, despite the fear.

I could feel her arms gently snake around me, gently tugging at my back. She… she was finally hugging me back.

It felt… oddly peaceful.

I scooted further into her arms, making us closer together. She flinched a bit, but didn't let go. Now she was properly hugging me, clinging to me. I must have been pretty warm for her to cling to a wolf like that…

But I didn't mind in the slightest.

 _Cameron POV…_

 _Earlier…_

The two of us walked onward into the depths of this facility.

We walked onwards, till I could hear noises up ahead.

"Where are we going again?" I said, keeping my voice neutral.

"I said it before, we're going somewhere I can test you." Silk said, glancing at me over her shoulder. "And we're almost there."

Slowly, the noise grew louder. Now I could make it out as arrows hitting targets in quick succession. "Umm… are we… going to a skeleton and spider filled area, by chance?" I asked, tugging at the collar of my shirt.

Silk snickered a bit. "Relax. Even if we are, and even if they wanted to hurt you, they can't. I'm with you, so you're protected."

Her words barely did anything to ease my tension. As we came closer to the open doorway where the noises were coming from, I began to sweat involuntarily.

We passed under the doorway, and it was revealed to be a massive training ground. Skeletons and spiders alike were all over the place, shooting arrows, practicing rushing at targets, and a bunch of other things that I couldn't describe.

Apparently Silk decided that it would be best to walk right down the middle of the room, so that EVERYONE could see us as we passed by. Most of which stared at me uncomfortably as we passed, and one or two chattered at me in their own languages. I'm not sure what they said, but Silk seemed to giggle at some of them.

"Alright you guys, back to work!" she shouted to everyone in the room. "He's with me!"

Slowly, everyone in the room went back to whatever it was that they were doing. Even so, I could still feel them watching me closely, not in an aggressive way, but more in a curious sort of way. I'm guessing most of them have either never seen a human, or they haven't tried to instantly kill a human before, and were rather curious about that fact.

I tried to think positive. At least I was protected by Silk, right? Surely I had that going for me. No way all of these spiders and skeletons would try anything with her around.

Then, once we were on the other side of the room, Silk stopped me in front of a medium sized area, lined with fence. "Wait here for a minute. I have to grab something from a room close by, and then we can start."

"W-wait!" I stammered. "C-can't I just come with you?"

"Sorry, but no." Silk apologized. "I have to go somewhere you can't roam about at the moment. I won't be long. Just keep calm."

With that said, Silk disappeared into the sea of training grounds. I nervously waited for her to return. Just to be safe, I stepped inside the safety of the fenced in area, but I knew it wouldn't do much against a spider or an armed skeleton.

Eventually, as I watched the bland stone wall, I got the impression I was being watched. I turned around to see… another skeleton, watching me. It had a bow, but it was down by it's side, hopefully meaning it wasn't about to attack.

We kinda just… stared at each other for a minute. Well, I was staring more at the skeleton more than the other way around. I always found that so creepy, that the one creature that doesn't even have eyes can be the best archer out of all the monster that roam the world. That and the fact that they looked soulless freaked me out even more.

It carefully looked me up and down a few more times…

And then it spoke.

"You've met with an awful fate, haven't you?"

I blinked a bit. I didn't think skeletons could even speak English. Then again, that one old skeleton that stopped as Susie's place before had spoke, so I guess they can if they want to? Regardless, I was quiet before leaning closer. "I'm sorry?"

"You are a human." the skeleton said. It's voice rattled and creaked every time it's jaw moved, but I understood it all the same. "And yet here you are, in the middle of skeletons and spiders."

"Believe me, I had no intention on coming… wherever 'here' is." I said quietly.

"Whatever the reason, you are now put in a dangerous situation." the skeleton continued. "One that could mean the end of you."

"Wait… what are you going on about?" I said, stepping up the fence.

"The crown…" the skeleton said, it's voice dropping to a whisper. "You are the human we needed to get the crown. But it's now more dangerous than ever."

"What's it to you?" I asked rather harshly.

The skeleton ignored my tone. "Just listen. A grave fate awaits you where that crown is. Most of my brethren, Diana included, were not around when that crown was in someone's hands. I was. I remember exactly how it was."

The skeleton looked down at it's boney hand. "Power changes people, human. Even if they have a heart of gold, eventually, power corrupts things. The king was corrupted. He was going to plan mass genocide of ALL other races than skeletons and spiders. Not just humans. Creepers. Endermen. Zombies. Cows. Wolves. Pigs. Even Cave Spiders, cousins of the spiders, would not be spared."

It looked at me, and I could tell even without eyes there was desperation as it stared at me. "The crown would bring our races together, yes. But not without sacrifice, of one's own rational."

I stared in disbelieve at this weird skeleton. Somehow, it's bones seemed to grow even older than they already had as I watched him.

"Look… if I don't get that crown, then I'm as good as dead. And why should I even listen to you? How do I know if you're telling the truth?" I asked.

"You shouldn't." the skeleton agreed. "And you probably won't, no matter what I say. But if you continue down this road you are going, then there will be no such thing as a happy ending for you, for me, for Silk, for Diana, for everyone."

I watched the skeleton as it appeared to sigh. "It seems I can't do anything more. At the very least… I will give you this."

It showed me it's bow. But… if my eyes weren't mistaken, there was a faint purple-ish aura surrounding it, running up and down the bow. As well as a small quiver with half a stack of arrows.

"Ummm…" I said, looking around. "Pretty sure that'll get confiscated the second someone sees me with it."

"Under normal circumstances, yes, it would." the skeleton agreed. "But this purple aura means something different. These bows are incredibly rare. Only one out of every thousand skeletons would be seen holding a bow like this, and that is a sign of high rank among our kind. Giving a bow like this to someone else is sort of like a sign of trust, and therefore will not be taken, unless you turn against us. Understand?"

"I… I guess." I said, taking the bow. The purple aura seemed to glow brighter for a second, before fading away.

"Go on. Fire it." the skeleton said expectantly. I was confused about what he wanted me to fire at…

When I saw a target not that terribly far away from here, just to my left. The only problem was that a skeleton was currently using it, but I guessed if I gave it a heads up.

I whistled loudly enough for the skeleton to hear, and prepped the bow to fire. Fortunately, it got the message and stood off to the side, as I carefully aimed…

And fired. The arrow soared beautifully through the air, hitting right in the bullseye. Which was impressive, considering the target was a full twenty blocks away from me.

"Not bad at all." the skeleton I had been talking to said, sounding impressed. "Not many skeletons can handle a shot like that. If you fail at this job and become a skeleton yourself, you'd make a fine addition to our forces."

"Umm… thanks?" I said, sheathing the bow behind my back.

"It was a complement." the skeleton said lightly. "Now… good luck to you, human. Whatever path you follow, I hope that my words at least had some affect on you."

It started to walk away, before one last question stuck out at me. "Wait." I called out.

The skeleton turned and looked at me again. "Does the purple aura… mean anything other than rank?"

The skeleton… it almost seemed to smile. "That is for you to discover. Good-bye."

With that it left, leaving alone to my thoughts. What did it mean, by 'that is for you to discover?' What was that about?

But as I pulled out the gift, and was about to inspect it closer, suddenly I heard a gasp from my left. I looked up to see Silk, holding an assortment of supplies, staring at me, surprised.

"W-w-who gave you that?!" she asked, dropping all of the stuff she had in the little fenced off area.

"Some skeleton." I replied simply. "Practically gave it to me."

Silk looked at the faintly glowing bow with wide eyes. "Those… those are so rare… and a skeleton just up and GAVE it to you?!"

"Pretty much." I said, tucking it behind my back again.

"..." Silk was quiet for quite some time.

"I think we'll hold off for today." Silk said softly, eyeing my new bow again. "I'll clean up here, and then we'll head back."

She quickly shoved everything that she had brought with her into a bag that she borrowed from a nearby spider, and then gestured for me to follow.

As we walked back through the army of skeletons and spiders, they could all see my new bow that was given to me. But the stares weren't in a menacing sort of way, no. Rather, they all looked at me… with increased curiosity.

Silk and I slowly made our way out of the training grounds, back to where we came from. But about halfway there…

Suddenly, I was against the wall, with an angry spider girl in front of me, getting in my face. My first thought was that she suddenly grew, but I looked down and realized her feet were apparently around my legs, sticking to the wall.

"How did you get that bow?" Silk asked me again, not sounding very happy.

"Wha-"

"Don't play dumb. I know that a skeleton will only give a bow like that to another skeleton. So how. Did. You. Get. It?"

"I'm not lying, I swear!" I said, sweating.

But before Silk said anything else, someone else spoke up. "He's not lying Silk."

We both looked over to see… another skeleton, without it's bow. Was it the same one that gave me the bow in the first place?

Silk looked surprised. "You… you gave him your bow?"

"Indeed." the skeleton said. "I know all about your little mission for this human, so I gave him something to make the going easier."

Silk hopped off the wall and stared straight at the old skeleton. "But why would you care about him? Hell, if we didn't need him I'd kick him out right now, and be glad for it."

"Because I can tell something about him." the skeleton said, looking at me now. "Something tells me that he is gonna do something bigger than any of us can even imagine."

"But you know…" it wrapped up, turning around. "Even he will need the right tools for the job."

With that, the skeleton left, leaving the two of us standing there, confused.

Then, Silk huffed. "Fine. I'll let you hold onto that." she said unhappily. "But know that if you try to use that to free yourself, we are authorized to use lethal force to stop you. Understood?"

I nodded. Like I was about to kill someone in a facility with a million spiders and skeletons ready to fight. I had a bow with only a few shots in it.

"Good. Let's get back to Diana." she said. "Hopefully she's okay…"

"Ahh, Snowy's not stupid. She wouldn't hurt something if it didn't hurt us first." I reassured, but I couldn't help but have a small amount of doubt in my voice…

"Well, only one way to find out…" Silk said, continuing onward. I followed along shortly after.

If the bow was in my hands, I would've been able to see the bow faintly glow again, this time even brighter…

 **And that's that! Holy hell, this chapter is so long, yet it took less than a month to get out! My writer's block is over, baby!**

 **So yeah, hope you all enjoyed that little plot chapter. Now Cameron had a strange bow, one with a purple aura around it… *sarcasm* I wonder what that can mean…**

 _(Wow Author. Even here you poke fun at yourself.)_

 **Neptune?! You're in the wrong author's notes! Get out!**

 _(Chill out, I'm only here to promote your other story.)_

 **Not the right time for that Nep!**

 _(Another time, maybe?)_

 **I don't know, just let me wrap up here!**

 **Sigh… sorry about that. That was Neptune. She's one of the main characters in my other story, "HyperDimension Neptunia, Volume C." She's… needy kinda.**

 **She apparently thinks that she can get me more publicity for that story if she jumps over here and starts talking. I'm terribly sorry for that.**

 **But I guess if you do want to learn more about who that Neptune girl I'm talking about it, then give HDN, VC a read. It's got puns, references, jokes, serious moments, laughter, and a bunch of other things. It also shatters the fourth wall constantly, so be warned.**

 **Anyway, now that that shameless self-promotion is over, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I finally broke the trend! We are getting back to what our normal upload time was!**

 ***lets that thought hang for two seconds, then knocks on the wooden shelf next to me.***

 **As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, let me know. PM me with your in game name, what server, and when, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. And don't forget about my personal server! I reset the server recently, and have gotten on it almost once a day since then. I would really like to see some of you guys on there.**

 **But until next time guys, this is ButterHunter signing out for the time, and as always, stay awesome.**


	35. Can Trust be Earned?

**What is up you awesome guys! It's ButterHunter here, back with another epic chapter to OBaaT!**

 **Onward to story!**

Chapter 35: Can Trust be Earned?

The hall seemed even longer than it was just a minute ago. Maybe because the tension from Silk pinning me to the wall was still fresh in the air. I could see her slightly glance over at me every five seconds or something, watching me, and by extension that bow, closely.

It was a relief once we finally made it back to the starting point of where Snowy and Diana was. Without words, we walked inside.

Snowy and Diana were there, but… something was off. Diana… she still looked a little afraid, but… Snowy was right next to her, practically shoulder to shoulder, yet Diana wasn't shaking anywhere close as bad as she was before.

"S-so… that's why I felt…" Diana was saying, before she looked up at us. "O-oh, hey you two. You done already?"

"Master!" Snowy called out to me again, pouncing. I caught her just in time to not land ass first.

But just as soon as the hug started, it stop. "Master?" Snowy asked, feeling something on my back. "What's this?"

She gently grasped and tugged at my new bow, to the shock of her and Diana.

"Wh-where did you get this?!" Diana exclaimed, coming over to me.

"A skeleton gave it to me." I answered simply.

Diana looked ludicrous. "W-what?"

"I said a skeleton just gave it to me while Silk was away. She didn't believe me at first." I said plainly, gesturing to Silk.

Diana looked at the bow in Snowy's hands with… was that longing? Jealously? I couldn't tell. In any event, she pushed away that thought and turned around to sit at the table again.

I took the bow back from Snowy, but before we could sit back down, Silk spoke up. "Alright. You're turn." she spoke to Snowy.

"Wait… what?" Snowy asked, confused.

"It's your turn to show me what you can do." Silk explained. "Come on."

"Ummm… Silk…?" I started softly. "Please tell me you aren't taking her to that same place we were at."

"Relax, I'm not stupid." Silk brushed off. "I'm taking her to another room, far away from that training ground."

'Thank Notch…' I said in my head, relaxing a bit.

"Umm… what would I be showing you, exactly…?" Snowy asked carefully.

"You'll find out. Now let's roll." Silk replied, stepping out the door.

Snowy glanced at me, but when I gave her a nod, she followed Silk out. Clearly I could tell that she was getting really annoyed about being apart from me for so long, but I knew she'd be fine. It's only a little while, after all.

Anyway, now it was my turn to wonder what the hell I should be doing. After all, I didn't really have anything I could do or look at, other than the bow around my back.

With not many other options, I sat down at the table and sighed, resting my head on my arms. Diana saw that, because I heard her move around to the other side of the table.

"Hey… something wrong?" she asked, rubbing my back.

I stayed quiet for a minute. Slowly, I responded, "I… I just want to go home."

Diana paused. I heard her light breathing… change a bit.

Slowly, as if waiting for a reaction, I felt her arms wrap around my torso again, holding me tenderly. I didn't offer any resistance.

Slowly, her grip kept tightening around me, and I slowly relaxed myself. She hummed a little after a while, a soft, comforting melody that put me at ease.

Then, I felt her arms let go of me. "Do you feel better now?" she asked.

I looked up at her, and nodded gently.

"Good…" Diana said softly, glancing around the room. "...*sigh*..."

Suddenly, I felt her grab my shoulders and heave herself forward. And before I knew it, suddenly she was sitting on my lap.

I almost panicked, but Diana silenced me. "Shhh… it's okay." she said, patting my shoulder. "I just wanted a better angle."

'A… a better angle?' I asked myself.

Without much else of a warning, she clamps around me again, holding me tightly, yet tenderly. She practically glued herself to me, she was hugging that tightly.

I would've pushed her off, and I probably should've, but once I remembered how cold she was I had no choice but to embrace the poor skeleton girl to try and warm her up again. My mind absolutely refused to push her off of me.

My touch sent gentle shivers through her body, but she only gripped me tighter. I heard her gently murmuring things under her breath, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Her gentle breath tickled my ear as we hugged once more…

And then she gently pulled away, seeming satisfied.

"Mmm…" she quietly hummed, smiling faintly. "Thank you… you're so warm…"

I didn't say anything, I just looked at the skeleton girl in my lap. It was really, REALLY hard for me to not stare at… anywhere other than her face. And I think she might've realized that.

She… slightly giggled, in a cute, embarrassed way. "Wha-?" I started, but was interrupted by another giggle. A light blush made it's way onto my face.

"You know… you look cute when you get flustered." Diana said gently, still smiling at me. My face blushed a little heavier.

"I… I'm not cute…" I said shyly, breaking my eye contact as my face slowly heated up more and more.

"See?" Diana said, giggling more. "It's talk like that that makes you cute."

"I don't like using words like cute to… describe me." I said softly, blushing profusely. "I mean… look at Snowy. Now SHE'S cute. Me? Not even close…"

Diana laughed a little bit. It was a soft, adorable laugh that echoed gently in the room. Tension that I didn't even know was in my shoulders disappeared.

She gently poked my nose. "I think you just don't feel like you should be spoiled like that."

Then her hand gently pulled at my chin, until I was kinda forced to look at her again. Her gray eyes were so… nice to look at, actually. They seemed to shine almost, with a hidden light that wouldn't go away.

We said nothing to each other. We just stared into each other's eyes for a few moments

Then I realized how close she was to me. Uncontrollably, I squirmed. This… this isn't right.

Diana seemed to sense my discomfort, because she quickly scooted off of me and found her seat, blushing a bit herself. "S-sorry… I, uh… g-got carried away again." she said quietly.

We stayed in an uncomfortable silence for quite some time. I eventually got bored and pulled out the only thing I had on me: the bow.

I looked it over from side to side, top to bottom. The bow, minus the purple glow, looked normal as could be. But even so… I could feel something. Almost like… a faint rhythm.

I heard a sigh besides me. I looked up to see Diana staring at the bow, with… was that jealousy?

"Umm… something on your mind?" I asked innocently enough.

Diana looked back to me, startled. "O-oh, no! I'm just… thinking…"

"About this bow?" I guessed. "Here."

I handed her the bow, much to her surprise. "N-no no, I don't-"

"What? I can see you want to look at it, so here." I said again, setting the bow in her lap. "I don't need to use it right now anyway."

Diana stared at the bow for a few more seconds, before taking a hold of it. I guess because she's a skeleton and all, but somehow, the bow looks like… it fits her, I guess.

She looks at the bow all over, watching the purple aura pulse over the bow again and again. "So… this is what a bow of high rank looks like…" I heard her say, almost in awe.

"I honestly don't know why that skeleton gave me it's bow, but I guess there were good intentions buried in there." I said quietly. Diana didn't respond.

She turned around and pulled an arrow out, seemingly from nowhere, and tried firing it. The arrow flew through the air and hit the wall, sinking halfway into the block. Pretty impressive considering it was a stone wall.

She placed the bow back on the table, and sighed gently. "..."

"...um…" I said, reaching to take the bow back.

Her hand stopped mine in place. I looked back to her to see… a slight fire in her eyes. "Um… something wrong?" I asked.

"N-no… there's nothing wrong." Diana said, turning away from me. "...well, that's not entirely true…"

"Then… what's up?" I asked, curious.

"I… I just wonder why you managed to get that bow. I believe that one of our ranks gave it to you, that much I can believe. What I want to know is… why?"

"Believe me, that was one of my questions as well." I answered, taking the bow and looking at the purple aura racing up and down it. "They said something along the lines of, 'Something tells me he's gonna do something none of us can imagine. But you know, even he will need the right tools for the job.' I have no idea what that could mean, but…"

Diana stared at me as I recounted what that skeleton had said. "So… the one that gave you this bow… said they could tell you would do something big? Something incredible?"

"Sounds about right… but I'm not sure what it really expects from me." I responded quietly. "After all, I lost everything when… when…"

I quickly stopped where I was, but Diana caught that. "When… what?"

"...it's nothing." I denied quickly, turning away.

"It definitely looks like something to me. What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm… not feeling well. Maybe I should go lay down for a bit…" I responded.

"Cameron…" Diana softly complained.

"I'm being honest. Can… can I just go lay down now?" I asked, hoping that would sway her.

"What is wrong?" Diana asked.

"I told you, I… I don't feel very well. I want to go lay down…" I answered, my head hanging.

Diana watched me for a few more seconds. Then, she sighed.

"Okay… don't tell me." she said, sounding defeated. "I understand."

I sighed gratefully, but she wasn't done. "Yep. Just leave me in the dark here. No idea on how to make you feel better or anything. Just let me grab at straws. I want to help, but if you don't want it, that's fine. I understand."

Her words echoed in my mind, and guilt started settling in. But I couldn't tell her, even if I really wanted to. I doubt she'd be able to understand it, anyway. How would she react if I told her about my dead parents? She wouldn't be able to do anything with that…

Would she?

"*sigh*..." she sighed loudly. Her hand rested on my shoulder lightly. "Okay… let's go."

"Wait what?" I asked.

"You said you weren't feeling good, right? I'm taking you to a bed. Come on." Diana answered, standing up and holding her hand out to me. A moment of hesitation later and I take it.

Carefully, she once again leads me down the many halls of this place. Finally, we open a door, and step into…

"This… definitely isn't where I slept last night." I said, surprised. This was a proper bedroom, with a comfy bed, nightstand, even a little lamp. The room was quite large, and it actually felt like a decent bedroom, not just a room in this facility.

"Well, I figured you'd feel more comfortable sleeping in here than in that dark cell." Diana replied, her hand on my shoulder once again. "Just try not to trash the place, okay?"

I nodded slowly, and walked over to the bed. Suddenly, I had felt very tired, as the thought of sleeping in an actual bed appealed very well to me.

I passed out almost instantly after my head touched the pillow. I'm not sure of much, but I think I faintly remember someone, probably Diana, pulling the covers over me.

But that was the least of my concerns as I drifted off into the world of dreams…

 _Some time later…_

"Nggh…"

" _Cameron…"_

"Mmmm…"

" _Cameron, open your eyes!"_

"Mm… hm?"

I slowly opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything for a second as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

" _Cameron… are you okay?"_

'That voice…' I thought.

"Vivianna?" I called out

" _Yes! Okay, you CAN hear me."_ Vivianna's voice said. I looked around, but… while this was the same blank space I had grown used to when I first wake up in the dream world… I couldn't see Vivianna.

"Where are you?" I asked. "And, more importantly, are you okay?"

" _I… I don't know. We're still perfectly fine. We're still in your mind, that much I know. But… me and Aira are stuck somewhere."_ Vivianna said worriedly.

"What do you mean, stuck? How do you get stuck in my head?" I asked, confused.

" _Well, I'm not too sure myself. Best I can think of is… it's another layer of your mind. We're forced into this new area, and have no idea on how to get out."_

"Then wait, how can I hear you?" I asked.

" _Because, while it is another layer, I can still converse with you if you can concentrate long enough. Because your body is resting, you naturally come here, which is like a sort of top layer to your mind, I guess."_

"What caused this?" I asked.

" _You tell us."_ another voice, belonging to Aira, spoke up. " _Back when you were asleep in the house, after a while we… we felt something. Like… like we were getting pulled backwards or something. I don't fully understand it, but whatever happened, that same force is keeping us from staying on the top layer."_

" _The only time I can remember of something even closely like this happening was way back when you had that nightmare. Remember?"_ Vivianna asked me.

"You mean that one with the sandstorm?" I asked. "Yeah, I remember that."

" _It lead us straight to Aira here, who was being told at the time to kill you. And now, you get kidnapped, and we suddenly get stuck deeper in your mind. Think about it. These things don't seem to be happening naturally. Something, or someone, is causing this."_ Vivianna said.

I stayed quiet. I wasn't sure what to say.

" _Well… at the very least, we can still help you when you're awake."_ Vivianna said softly, as if noticing my silence. " _Granted, it'll take a lot more concentration, but you can still use our powers to an extent."_

" _Yeah, but… don't even think about flying. A breeze strong enough to lift things up is okay, but I can't make you fly. That would put too much strain on me and you."_ Aira said. " _I'm sorry…"_

"No… it's not your fault." I said, sitting down on the ground. "I'll find a way to get you guys back to me, don't you worry."

For a second, I could almost see them standing right in front of me, watching me in a concerned way. I wanted to reach out to them. I wanted to hold them. I wanted to do SOMETHING. But they disappeared before I could even think of anything.

" _There's nothing you can do here right now."_ Vivianna said quietly. " _For now, I think your best course of action is to wake up. We will be here, looking for any way to help you."_

"Thank you both…" I said, closing my eyes and sighing. "I really wish I could've seen you both."

" _We do too."_ they both said at the same time, a sad tone in their voices.

"I'll see you girls later. I promise." I say, before closing my eyes fully and lying down on the ground.

And just as I was about to leave, they said, " _We love you, Cameron."_

'And I love you both as well…' I thought quietly.

 _Some more time later…_

I slowly stirred, then my eyes opened. Someone had taken my glasses off my face, and placed them on the nightstand next to me.

Once I put them on, I looked over and saw something that slightly startled me. Silk, watching me.

"Oh, you're up." she said, not sounding very happy. "Diana told me that you weren't feeling well, so she took you here to have a nap. Is that right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I suddenly wasn't feeling my best, so…" I started.

"I don't need to know that." Silk interrupted roughly, standing up and walking over to me unhappily. "But I do want to know something."

"Ye-e-e-e-es?" I asked slowly, not sure what she wanted.

"Why are you in MY bed?" Silk asked.

That question took a moment to process in my head. When it did, suddenly my face… I'm not sure if it paled, blushed, or both. I really couldn't tell.

"I… I didn't even know it was your bed." I responded softly, surprise leaking into my tone. "Diana didn't say that she was-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever." Silk again interrupted, putting her hand on my chest and roughly pushing me down. Once again, I had an angry spider lady over me, holding me in place while she waited for me to say something.

"L-look." I tried to say, stammering against my will. "If I knew it was your bed, I would've stayed away. But…"

"But WHAT?" Silk asked, getting in my face.

"But… but…" I stammered, unsure what I could say without getting her even angrier. Looks like trying to get my thoughts out isn't gonna be an option here.

'Well… there's always plan B.' I thought, bracing myself. 'Good old fashioned smooth talk.'

"I guess I should've known it was your bed to begin with." I said, hoping my tone was selling what I was saying. "I mean, it was a really comfy bed. What else should I have expected from someone like you?"

Silk, once calm and controlled, suddenly lost her train of thought as I hijacked where this conversation was going, and… I think I saw a light blush come to her cheeks.

"What's… what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, suddenly confused.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" I said, almost laughing. Slowly, the words became a bit more natural. "You deserve only the best. You work really hard here. Harder than ANYONE I've seen. Why wouldn't you get the best things?"

'It's working… I think.' I thought, because Silk was… actually becoming nervous. And… slightly embarrassed. Though only slightly.

"My bed is the exact same as Diana's over there…" she said, almost defensively. "Its nothing special…"

"Then how come my mind chose to fall into this one, eh?" I asked.

Silk tried to come up with a response to this, but ultimately gave up. She got off me and stood up, straightening her clothes. Her face was turned away from me, but I could still see a small amount of blush on her cheeks.

"Get up once you're ready." she said briskly. "I'll be outside the room."

With that, she hastily left me alone. 'Huh. Didn't think that would actually work that well.' I thought quietly. 'Guess she gets rather flustered around actual compliments, huh? I could use that…'

A minute or so later, and I got out the bed, (After which I made it neat again, of course. I'm not gonna be a slob in someone else's house, even in a place like this.) and started to head onward to the door.

But just before I got there, I saw something. At the foot of Diana's bed, there was a chest that was left wide open. And I just so happened to see…

My bag. And my tool belt. All of my things, and more importantly, my weapons, were literally a few steps away.

I almost made a move to get them, then book it out the door and find Snowy, then get out of this place.

But I hesitated. This place was massive, from what I understood. Too easy to get cornered in a long hallway or the like. And since there were so many skeletons and spiders here, the idea of trying to escape like that seemed second to none, especially once Silk knew I would be making a break for it.

And then… Snowy. Even if I could find her somehow, what would we do then? Keep running? What if I couldn't make it to her in time? What if they did something to her? I… I can't make that call.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I never heard the door reopening behind me. "What is taking you so-" I heard an angry voice say, before it quickly became quiet.

I turned to see Silk, looking right at where I had been staring at. I knew instantly I better start talking.

"N-now Silk…" I started weakly. "I-I know this looks bad, but… I really wasn't going to use that stuff to make a break for it. I-I really wasn't! I-"

But then, she spoke up.

"Shut it." Silk said, effectively silencing me. How she did that when she barely came up to my neck, I'd never know. "I know you well enough to know what you're going to say."

She went over to the chest, and held her hand on the lid. "Get outside. I'll be right there."

I obediently followed orders, and headed out the door with my head down, leaning against the wall. She thought that I was about to grab my things and run for the hills. And I almost was going to. But… I wasn't going to, honest! I was far too worried about Snowy's safety.

I heard the door close next to me. I expected her to say something berating to me, or something similar.

Which is why when the sound and the force of something hitting me in the chest happened, I was totally unprepared. Once the initial shock subsided, I looked down to see…

My bag and tool belt, with all my things. And Silk… holding it out to my chest.

"Not a single word about this." Silk stated threateningly, before I could get anything out of my mouth. "I'm doing this because you were nice to me. But mark my words: share what you said to anyone else in this world, and Hell will be a sweet relief to what I have in store for you. Do you understand me, human?"

I hesitated, then nodded. I carefully took my bag, holding it as if it had twenty stacks of diamonds inside.

Once everything was back on, suddenly everything felt normal again. With my bag and belt missing, there had been a constant itch, of a sort, that had been bothering me to no end.

Silk watched me carefully, and turned to start leading the way again once everything was was carefully put on again. But just before she started walking.

"Hey." I started gently.

"What?" she said, turning around.

I couldn't say anything to voice my gratitude. So, I let my actions speak for me.

And hugged her.

Looking back on that, it was probably an insane move. Silk almost seemed to recoil from my touch, and squirmed for a moment, yelling, "Hey! Let me go!"

But soon, the squirming stopped. Whether she wanted to or not, she was slowing down.

"Thank you, Silk. This… this means more to me than you realize." I whispered softly.

"D-don't… don't mention it." Silk stuttered, patting my back nervously. I quickly pulled away from her before things could have a chance to get worse.

"R-right. Let's head back now… Snowy's been worried about you." Silk said, jolting me from my thoughts about the bag.

"Oh shit, Snowy!" I yelled. "Get me to her, now."

Silk started speed walking, but a few seconds later, I couldn't help but yell out, "A little faster, please!"

"Fine, have it your way." Silk said, grinning in a 'you asked for it' way. She suddenly started sprinting, faster than I thought. I could just barely keep up with her.

"I said a little faster!" I called out, just barely managing to see her as she passed another turn.

"I can't hear you!" she called out behind her, tauntingly. "Try running a little faster!"

"Grrr…" I growled slightly, and tried to pick up the pace. Slowly, I started to gain ground on Silk, bit by bit.

Until suddenly, she stopped. I nearly tripped trying to apply the brakes, but I thankfully came to a stop just in front of Silk.

The worst part, though, was that I felt drained after pushing myself that hard to run, whereas Silk here looked like it hardly fazed her. "Don't you do any running at all?" she asked.

"I… *gasp*... try… not to." I got out, trying to catch my breath as best I can.

Silk sighed and rolled her eyes, but gave me a minute to recollect myself. Once I was breathing normally again, she went straight through the door next to us. I followed suit.

Almost immediately, I saw a bright, white blur heading for me, and then I was on the ground, with a pair of arms wrapped around me. Three guesses as to who it was.

"Master! I was so worried!" Snowy said, holding me like a teddy bear.

"Woah, Snowy, easy there!" I replied, patting her back gently. "Didn't one of those two tell you where I was?"

"Well, yeah, but… you were asleep for a whole hour." Snowy said, looking into my eyes with tears in the corners of hers. "I… I was getting nervous that… you weren't gonna be back soon… and that…"

"Shhh…" I said gently, patting her back gently. "I'm here now. Everything is fine, don't you worry about it."

Then, Silk cleared her throat. "Touching reunion and all, but we have business to talk about, and we need to do it quickly." she said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh, give her a minute." I complained. "She was worried."

"Yeah, but I'm also worried about what will happen to that crown if we don't get up and get going, so come on." Silk said, heading behind that same table. I just now noticed Diana was behind the table as well, and had been watching us the whole time with… a large smile tugging at her lips.

Anyway, once Snowy finally pried herself off me, we once again took our seats across from Diana and Silk, who immediately began talking.

"So, while you were sleeping, Cameron, we had a recon spider team search around the base where the crown is most likely being held." Diana said. "They found this."

She took out a piece of paper and handed it to me. On it was a poorly drawn picture of some people gathered around a large cube of some sort, with something in the middle of it.

"Granted, it's not the best drawing we could get…" Silk admitted. "But nonetheless, the fact that these humans were gathered around this cube is something to me. Look at the object in that cube again."

I did, and something stuck out to me. "There's, like, little spikes poking out of it."

"Exactly. The crown in question is made with bones, like you'd expect, and according to our records, this is what the crown is most likely to look like." Silk said.

She showed me another piece of paper, this time with a much better drawing on it. The 'crown' was rather small, or maybe that was just the drawing. The interesting thing about it, though, was that there were four longer bones, possibly femurs, on it, that sort of made somewhat four corners on the otherwise round crown. That and what appeared to be a large gemstone of some kind right in the center.

"See? There's a connection between these two pictures." Diana said once I looked up.

"Yeah, but…" I said, looking back to the crudely drawn picture. "I don't know, something about this doesn't seem right to me. I mean, how do we know for sure this is even a crown? It could be the latest piece of modern art for all we know."

"We already have another recon team out there now, and they'll hopefully make us a better picture." Silk responded. "And once they come back, then we can hopefully make sense of what this object is. Though if we had it our way, we'd come up with a plan right now."

"Okay… so… how long will the recon team take?" Snowy asked.

"Rest of today, to first thing tomorrow, give or take." Diana answered firmly. "Any longer and we'd start assuming the worst. Anyway, now we just have to wait. If we wait just a little while longer, then we can get solid information on the crowns location, and be able to form a plan."

Snowy and I stayed quiet as we took in this whole set up. 'All just to get a simple crown too…' I thought slowly.

Then, I remembered that old skeleton's words.

" _The crown would bring our races together, yes. But not without sacrifice, of one's own rational."_

What would happen once someone put on that crown, should it be real?

What would happen if Diana or Silk put on that crown, should it exist?

Something… something was stirring within me. Something that told me something wasn't right. I… I had to do something to change this. But… but what?

"Well… that's all we have time for today." Diana said, wrapping up her notes. "Thank you both for… agreeing to help us. It really means-"

It was only then that Silk finally noticed my bag over my shoulder, and my toolbelt around my waist. She paled slightly.

"Wh-when did you get that?" she asked, pointing.

"Silk gave it to me." I replied simply.

Diana looked at Silk, surprised. I guess it is kinda warranted, though. I mean, in Diana's eyes, what have I truly done for Silk that would spark this kind of… acceptance, I guess is the word?

In any event, Silk looked down at the ground… wait, is she blushing? "I… I did it because I think he has a right to his own things. Besides, he already knows that trying to get out by force is not gonna be good for his health, so what's the harm?"

Diana seemed to get herself under control once Silk explained herself. "O-oh… of-of course. Right. Yeah… I guess that's fine."

Soon after, Diana and Silk escorted me and Snowy to what we had assumed would be the cell we had spent last night in.

But we were surprised, in more ways than one, when they suddenly detoured into what I remembered to be their shared room. Only this time, there were two cots on the ground next to the beds.

Before I could even wonder what was going on, Diana answered my unspoken question. "Well, since we're going to be doing this job together, we decided that it would be… beneficial to stay together for some time, until we do the job. It's good to be comfortable around who you're working with, you know?"

"Pick a cot you two." Silk said, nudging us both towards them.

Snowy and I were, with good reason, nervous and confused about this sudden change of pace. However, we both eventually made our moves, and quickly chose a cot each.

I suddenly realized that I picked the one next to Diana's bed, meaning Snowy had gotten Silk's. I guess it works out in the end. Diana would probably be much more comfortable sleeping near me than Snowy, even if the two were getting along better.

"Alright, that's settled. Now… Diana, where's the sheets?" Silk asked, looking to her friend.

Diana looked around a bit. "I swore I put them right here…" she said, looking at a small shelf near the door. "Did someone take them?"

"You gotta be-" Silk started to moan, before composing herself. "I'll be right back. When I find out who took those damn sheets…"

She angrily left the room, leaving Diana shaking her head gently. "*sigh*... poor Silk. She always gets worked up over the little things…"

I glanced over at Snowy, who was just as confused as I was. She gently sat down next to me, not saying anything, just sitting there.

Diana seemed to see and understand our confusion. She sat down on the cot across from us, and slowly started talking. "I… I know you both must be very confused. I get that much. But… well, sleeping in that cell could only be so comfortable. It is a cell after all."

We said nothing as she continued, "But you have to understand… well, we need you two to trust us. This whole thing relies on trust. If we don't have trust… then what else do we have?"

Snowy and I looked at each other, trying to judge if she was being honest with us. "You do realize you set the bar incredibly high for that, right?" I asked Diana.

"I know we did…" Diana responded sadly, looking down at the ground. "But… we intend to change that."

"H...how?" Snowy asked.

"Well, we just have to get along enough, and sooner or later, you'll both start to understand and trust us, at least to some extent." Diana explained. "And the job is done, we let you go, and we all part our separate ways."

"You make it sound so easy…" I muttered.

"It's not supposed to be easy." Diana agreed softly, moving forward to sit down on the other side of me. "It never WAS going to be easy."

The three of us stayed in a sort of quiet for some time, until Diana got sick of the quiet. "I'm gonna go see how Silk is doing with those sheets. Be right back."

She left the room, leaving me and Snowy to our confused thoughts.

 _Third person POV…_

Diana exited the room and quickly ran for wherever they held the laundry in this place. Granted, Silk and Diana were pretty the only ones who ever even needed to use it, but that's besides the point.

Once she reached the room in question, however, she noticed that Silk was in here… just watching her feet. Diana wasn't sure what to make of this. Silk never really… well, let's just say, gave a whole lot of thought about things. She was very impulsive, which you'd think wouldn't work out well, but since she was also very orderly, it balanced things out, for the most part.

Anyway, as Diana entered, Silk looked up in mild surprise. "Silk? What're you doing here? And where's-"

"They're still in the other room." Diana replied. "You were taking a long time, so I came here to see what was going on."

"Oh… oh yeah, sheets…" Silk muttered halfheartedly. She slowly started looking through the cabinets and such for the sheets, though very slowly, as if her heart wasn't in it.

"Is… is something wrong?" Diana asked simply, leaning against the closed door behind her.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, nothing…" Silk muttered under her breath.

"Something's clearly bothering you. What's up?" Diana pressed.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Silk denied, looking slightly faster. "Where are those damn-"

"Silk." Diana interrupted calmly. "What's wrong?"

Silk was still for the count of five, before she tried to answer, stopped, sighed, and then gave up. "I… I'm having doubts now."

"Doubts? About what?" Diana asked, surprised.

"About those two." Silk admitted, sitting on the counter behind her. "They… they're too cautious. Too undertrusting. And we put that on ourselves. And I doubt them spending the next few nights with us will change anything."

"And the job. If we didn't need him, I'd want Cameron out of here the first chance I got. But we need him, so I have to put up with his unpredictable nonsense. It's driving me insane. And the worst part… we don't even know how we need to use him."

Diana was quiet.

"I… I keep thinking about that day, the day we took them. We… we just left a note. A NOTE. That's all we cared about whomever else lived there. We TAUNTED them with the fact that we stole Cameron and Snowy."

Diana continued to stay quiet, watching as her friend slowly broke down.

"And now, we have this huge burden on our shoulders, two people that we need to get help from that don't even trust us, and we don't even know if everything will work right, and… and…"

Silk's sudden tirade of worries slowly fizzled out, and she seemed close to the breaking point. "We… we formed this group… to not be called monsters anymore… but how can we say that now?"

"Silk…" Diana softly spoke, sitting down next to her friend and rubbing her back.

Silk sniffled, but stayed strong otherwise. The last thing she wanted to do was look weak next to her best friend. "How… how are we supposed to do this?"

"...I don't know." Diana admitted. "But what I do know, is that if we don't at least TRY, then we'll be no better off than anyone else."

"Who knows if those two will ever trust us. Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. But what matters, is that as long as we can convince them to help us, then we can get that crown back. And as soon as we can do that, we can let those two go without a second thought."

Silk listened to all her friend had to say. When Diana finished, Silk weakly muttered, "Y-you… you make it sound so easy."

"It's not supposed to be easy." Diana countered. "Trust isn't easily won. And that crown, we already can guess it's gonna be a pain in the ass to get. But that's what makes it so rewarding, no?"

Silk took it all in for about ten seconds. When it all settled in her mind, she sighed, and got up. "Well… at least I feel somewhat better about this…"

"That's better than nothing." Diana agreed with a smile.

"Thank you…" Silk muttered under her breath, just barely audible.

After a few more seconds of searching, the two found the sheets, freshly folded for bed duty. "Come on. Let's get back to them before they worry."

"Doubt that'll be the case." Silk bantered. "If anything, they probably think it's a breath of fresh air now that we're not breathin' down their necks.

"True. Very true." Diana agreed. "But still, they at least know we won't hurt them, unlike some other members I know…"

They talked back and forth for a little while, until they reached the door to their room, and opened the door without knocking.

"Hey, you two. Got the-" Silk started to say, but was silenced by what she saw.

Cameron and Snowy were on the same cot, gently kissing each other with Cameron's back to the door. Clearly they didn't hear the door open, or Silk talk, because they still looked like they were in their own little world.

Diana started to blush profusely. "U-u-um… wh-what…?"

And it was then that Snowy happened to glance behind Cameron, and saw those two staring at her. With a start, she pulled away from Cameron and blushed furiously. Cameron looked behind him, to see those two watching him wide eyed.

The color drained from his cheeks slightly, as he asked, "How… how much of that did you see?"

"Not very much." Silk answered, her cheeks gently tinged a shade pinker.

Snowy didn't say anything, she just retreated further behind Cameron. "I-If you dare tell anyone about that-" Cameron started.

"Cool your jets, we had no intention of that." Silk instantly countered, to which Diana gently nodded, trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone. "Here's the sheets."

Silk tossed two bundles of sheets to each cot, and then stepped out with the excuse of 'needing to powder her nose.' Diana left just behind her with about the same level of excuse.

Cameron and Snowy were blushing at what just happened. They had been hoping that Silk or Diana wouldn't see that, but no dice.

"M-M-Master…" Snowy finally spoke up, shaking slightly out of embarrassment. "I… I…"

"I know exactly what you're trying to say." Cameron agreed, looking down at his sheet bundle. "Come on, let's just try to get some shut eye and this will hopefully blow over by tomorrow."

"Y-yeah… let's… do that." Snowy agreed, fumbling with her sheets.

Outside the room, Silk and Diana were understandably shocked about what they had just witnessed, with varying degrees of blush.

"Well." Silk finally said, breaking the quiet. "That happened."

"I… I knew they were close, but…" Diana spoke quietly. "That… that was…"

"Maybe we should just leave it." Silk said, listening to the sounds of those two shifting sheets around. "I'm sure come next morning, we'll have forgotten about this."

They both knew it was very unlikely, but it was the best they could do at the moment. So, once the sound of moving died down in there, they reentered, seeing Cameron and Snowy already tucked in, trying to sleep. Without a word, Silk and Diana followed suit.

Everyone slowly fell asleep, but Cameron took the longest. He kept thinking about how Diana and Silk took the new revelation.

If Silk hadn't had that slight blush, she probably could've fooled Cameron that she'd already see that before. Whereas Diana… she looked beyond embarrassed to have barged in and saw that.

'To each their own… but couldn't they have at least knocked?' Cameron said in his mind.

Slowly, sleep won over, and he fell into an uneasy sleep…

 _Somewhere, deep inside the facility…_

"So. You are the one who will take the crown." a male voice said.

"Yes, my lord." another voice, this one sounding skeleton-isque.

"Hmm. And, you are in the process of getting said crown, yes?" the voice asked, almost amused.

"Y-yes, my lord." the skeleton voice responded, albeit slightly hesitantly. "We have two of our best members on it as we speak."

"Have you no shame?" the male voice asked in a deep, threatening voice.

"Wh-whatever could you-"

"You are relying on humans AND monster-humans to get you that crown."

"Be-believe me, my lord, if there was another way than to use humans, we'd take it, but-"

"I don't want excuses."

The male voice sighed, then continued. "I only have one thing to ask of you."

"Y-yes, my lord?"

"Once the job is done, and you retrieve that crown… I want all of them dead."

"D-dead?!"

"Dead."

"B-but, my lord, sir! Y-you must understand! Th-the 'human-monsters' you speak of are our hardest workers! Almost half of our operation relies on them, and that's no understatement! To get rid of them-"

"You DARE try to argue with me?" the male voice asked.

"N-no! No, my lord! I-I wasn't arguing, I was just… um… offering other ideas!"

"I said that I want everyone of them, the human and the human-monsters, dead once you receive the crown. If you don't comply…"

The male voice laughed. "Well, let's just say there's Hell, and then there's MY hell. You chose where you want to be one day."

The male voice didn't even wait for a response before exiting through another door.

"Hmph. Impotence." the man muttered. "Oh well. Once he is out of the picture… then no one can stand before me."

The man started to chuckle, then laugh, then it became a full guttural bellowing of laughter. Dark, evil laughter.

And his stark, white eyes glowed the longer he laughed.

"Hahaha… and now, I shall leave." the man muttered to himself.

His eyes glowed again, and he suddenly vanished into thin air, only a thin wisp of smoke signifying he was even there to begin.

His laugh still echoed through the building…

 **Huh. Well that's a thing now.**

 **Well, how about that? ANOTHER chapter up at the same time of my HDN chapters are coming! How awesome is that?**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It took some time to get out, but I hope it was worth it!**

 **As always if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your in-game username, what server, and when. And please don't forget about my personal survival server!**

 **As always guys, until next time, stay awesome.**


	36. Trust, Faith, and Promises

**Eh heh heh... heh heh... heeeyyyy, readers...**

 **PLEASEDON'TKILLMEOHGOD.**

 **I know I'm really late on this one, I know. And I hate that just as much as you all do. I really wanted to get this chapter out on Christmas, or at the latest New Years, but... things happened.**

 **At least it's out now, right? Please enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 36: Trust, Faith, and Promises

 _Cameron POV..._

It was a long, uneasy night for me.

Usually I fell asleep with no problems, but this night was not to be one of those.

Sure, I fell asleep somewhat quickly, but that was only small consolation to what awaited me in my dreams.

" _Cam… ron…"_ a voice barely sounded out.

"Vi… Vivianna?" I called out.

" _Ye...s. We're… here… what…"_ Vivianna's voice said.

"What?!" I shouted. "I can't hear you fully!"

I concentrated as hard as I could. Slowly, Vivianna's voice grew clearer.

" _Can you hear me now?"_ she asked.

"K-kinda." I replied. "I'm focusing kinda hard."

" _Well, just keep it up for a minute. I need to tell you something."_ Vivianna spoke rapidly. " _We just felt another pull. We're getting even lower into your mind."_

"That would explain why I have to concentrate so much to hear you…" I murmured.

" _I'm afraid there's nothing we can do until this 'pull' wears off."_ Vivianna admitted. " _But given how we just were hit with another, I think there's something, or someone, forcing it to happen. Someone knows you have us in your head. Someone is trying to suppress us."_

"..." I was quiet. "Isn't there anything I can do?"

" _Well, admittedly, no."_ Vivianna stated with a sigh. " _But that doesn't mean you can't look into this on your own, no?"_

"And how do you propose I do that, huh?" I asked sharply. "I'm stuck in this facility until I can find that stupid crown."

" _Maybe if you can get up now, you can do a bit of exploring on your own."_ Vivianna suggested. " _And if anyone asks, you can say that Silk or Diana allowed you to. I mean, you must have earned at least SOME respect here, right?"_

"Barely." I responded. "But you do have a point."

" _I have enough control still to allow you to wake up right now. Once you do, be quiet, but don't be suspicious. And if you see anything that could be used to help you, make sure you memorize it exactly."_ Vivianna told me. Slowly, I felt my real body waking up, as the dream world started to fade.

"I understand. Thank you, Vivianna." I thanked her. Slowly, the image of the dream world faded away…

And then I opened my eyes in the real world.

First thing I notice: someone's hugging me.

At first, I swear it's Snowy, because that would be something she'd do.

But I realize: Snowy isn't nearly that cold. And… I'm very sure that Snowy doesn't have nearly that much chest.

With a start, I realize that it's Diana. She rolled off her bed and unconsciously grabbed onto me.

After a brief second of panic, I calm myself with some deep breaths. The last thing I want is to wake anyone, especially Snowy, and risk not getting to do some sneaking around.

Diana is softly mumbling in her sleep. I can't make heads or tails of it, but it sounds like she's imagining something peaceful. Perhaps warm thoughts.

As much as I hate to do it, I slowly start wiggling my way out of her arms, as to not wake her.

Unfortunately, her body reacts. Her grip becomes tighter the longer I squirm. By the time I realize that it's pointless, her grip has become one of iron.

"Oh, perfect…" I muttered. "Now what am I gonna do…?"

Slowly, I feel stirring. Then…

"Cam… Cameron?" I hear Diana's voice softly speak up next to my ear.

I look over, and suddenly, we're nose to nose. For a moment, neither of us say anything.

A moment passes, before she blushes hard. Then she looks down slightly to see how tightly her arms are around me, and the blush grows.

"O-oh! I-I'm so sorry!" Diana murmured softly, quickly letting go of me. "I-I… I don't know what to say…"

"It… it's fine, Diana…" I murmur, as to not wake up the other two."Just… you should go back to sleep."

"Y-yeah… right." she agreed, climbing back up onto her bed, rolling up her covers around her again.

"Actually, hey, Diana?" I asked softly.

"Hmm?" she hummed, propping herself up to see me.

"Can you show me to the bathroom?" I asked. Partly to get a general sense of the layout, and partly because I really did have to go.

"Oh! Um, right… follow me…" she muttered, getting out of her bed and waiting by the door.

I quietly followed, glancing back at Snowy one last time. She seemed a bit restless, but she was still sleeping, so that was okay, I guess.

Diana slowly lead me through the halls of the building. I scanned everywhere I could, looking for some indication of an exit or something of the like.

While we walked, I could help but feel that this place seemed far too big to me. There were numerous cell blocks, but every one of them was empty. There were plenty of regular rooms, but most of the doors to them looked like they never had been used.

'Hm… I could maybe take advantage of that…' I thought.

Even when I thought this, it kinda seemed… lonely. Barely anyone was here. To me, it seemed… almost sad.

Finally, we reached where the bathroom was. Diana waited for me while I, erm, did my business and that stuff. Moving on…

Anyway, once I stepped out, I saw Diana looking down at her hands. "Diana?"

She jumped a bit, startled. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't think you were done…" she replied, but… something was wrong with this picture. She… she wasn't looking at me. She was avoiding my gaze, like she was afraid of me.

"Umm, Diana? Is something wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"N-no… nothing's wrong." she countered, blushing.

"Diana." I persisted.

"I swear! Nothing is wrong. I promise!" she insisted.

I almost tried again, until I realized: this was exactly what had happened with her. I refused to give her an inch, and she could only guess at what was bothering me. Now though, those roles were reversed.

I sighed. Diana didn't seem like she wanted to get going yet, so I leaned against the wall next to her.

It was quiet for the longest time.

Until…

"It was six years ago."

Diana looked up at me, surprised. "Wh-what?"

"It was six years ago." I repeated. "Remember that thing that was bothering me before? It happened six years ago."

"..." Diana was quiet, studying my face.

I sighed again. "I really wish I could just forget it now. I lost everything I ever loved that day. I lost everything I ever cherished that day."

I closed my eyes, and slowly slid down the wall, saying softly, "I lost my parents that day."

Diana was so quiet I could practically hear her blinking in shock.

"They… they were so much to me." I mumbled. "My mom… I never knew how much I cared for her. She… she used to tell me stories when I was young, tales of heroes, and far-away lands. Everyday she'd bring me lunch, be it for school or just for roaming the town I lived in. And my dad… he always was so blunt with me. He'd always show me how things were in life. He was the one who first taught me how to shoot a bow, how to fight with a sword."

I pulled out my diamond sword, watching the light reflect off it. "This sword is a vestige of them. My dad's favorite sword, best in the whole town. Everytime I use it, I… I can almost feel them from somewhere, encouraging me. Praising me. Telling me that I will find a way to make life better."

I sighed, and let the sword fall to the ground gently, a light noise ringing down the halls. "But then I lost them. The entire town was in ruins. Whatever houses that still stood were on fire. Smoke hung like a low cloud over everything. But the worst… the worst part was… seeing my d-dead, blood covered parents, on the ground, their t-twisted, broken bodies… just lying there… I…."

I bowed my head down. Tears, very small tears, mind you, were starting to form. But I didn't cry. I already seemed far too vulnerable as is.

"See why I didn't want to tell you now, huh?" I asked with a shaky breath, forehead resting on my knees. "I don't like to talk about them… brings back too many memories."

It was silent for the longest time. Finally, Diana broke the silence. She got down to my level, and slowly stuttered, "I-I… I-I am so… so s-sorry… I… I didn't think-"

"It's not your fault. You had no idea." I said, patting her shoulder.

"S-still… I… I don't know what to say." Diana managed, her arms hooking around my shoulders.

Slowly, she hugs me. It's soft and tender, which almost makes me forget about her coldness. Almost.

I gently hug her back, sighing gently as memories of that fateful night slowly replayed once again.

I don't know how long she hugged me. I don't know who pulled away first. All I know is that when one of us did pull away, I didn't want it to end. And judging by her face, Diana didn't either.

"*sigh*... thank you, Diana." I whispered, staring deep into her gray eyes. "I… I feel a little better now, at least."

"I only wish I could do more… than just words and a cold hug." she got out, looking down.

"It's the thought that counts." I offered. "Now… maybe we should head back. Before we lose sleep."

"Right…" Diana mumbled. Slowly, we got up off the ground and started to head back to the bedroom. But… Diana seemed like she was more focused on me than anything. Hell, she nearly ran into a wall, and didn't so much as even flinch.

Once we got back, I slowly crawled back into the cot I had been given. Diana paused at the foot of her bed.

"Cameron… maybe you should take my bed. It'll be more comfy than that cot." she whispered, kneeling by my cot.

"...huh?" I asked sleepily. Where was this coming from?

"I said you should take my bed for the night." Diana repeated, slowly resting a hand on my shoulder.

"No… no, I'm fine here. You should just go to sleep Diana…" I mumbled.

Diana didn't seem to like that, but she was too tired to argue. Slowly, I heard her move to the other side and get under her covers, slowly mumbling under her breath.

It took me a few more minutes, but I slowly felt myself drifting off…

Until I heard the soft _WHUMP_ noise by my side.

And two arms wrapped around me.

I nearly shouted, but I bit my tongue at the last second. It was only Diana… who fell off her bed in her sleep, hugging me. Again.

My heart was beating out of my chest, but Diana didn't wake up. Somehow she was already asleep, and apparently rolls in her sleep.

Slowly, I relaxed. Diana was just cold. She wanted to warm up in her sleep, so she naturally went to the warmest thing available, AKA me.

Slowly, I wrapped my own arms around her, and felt her sigh in approval. Slowly, I felt myself drifting off once again…

 _The next morning…_

I woke up to gentle snoring in my ear.

I opened my eyes to see Diana, still hugging me in her sleep. Thankfully, I remembered this from last night, so I wasn't nearly as shocked as I could've been.

"Heh…" I laughed lightly, watching her peaceful face. "She looks really relaxed…"

Sadly, I had to wake her, before the others did and saw me like this.

So I gently poked her shoulder a few times. Slowly, she stirred, then her eyes gently opened.

"Morning, lazybones." I greeted, snickering.

"Ugh… you did not just make a skeleton pun to wake me up…" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"I did and I'm proud." I replied cheekily. "Now, can I please sit up?"

Diana looked down and realized she had me in her hug once again. She blushed brightly, but…

"Can… can I stay like this… just a little longer?" she asked timidly.

I became surprised for the briefest of seconds, before deciding to humor her. "Fine. But not for very long, okay? I'm hungry."

Diana looked overjoyed. She restarted her hugging efforts, pulling our bodies as close as they could possibly be. She was still cold, but… I think hugging me all night had some sort of positive effect on her, because she seemed… looser. More relaxed and controlled.

She slowly started whispering things in my ear, but I couldn't make any sense of them. I think she was just whispering sweet nothings, just happy to be near something warm again.

Eventually, she pulled away, seemingly satisfied for now. "Thank you, Cameron… you are a really kind human, you know that?"

I shrugged, and then mumbled, "I may have been told that once or twice…"

"Well, it's true." Diana said, standing up. "Now… let's go get some food, huh?"

We carefully walked out, making sure to not wake Snowy or Silk, who were still fast asleep. We slowly made our way down the hallways of this building.

Diana leads me to a room with a table. She tells me to sit down at the table, and she'll be right back with food.

"You trust me enough to be alone now?" I asked.

"Of course I do." Diana responded, sounding like I was crazy for assuming otherwise. "I always did. You aren't a little kid who needs to be babysat, you're a young adult who can watch over himself just fine. What, you WANT to be babysat?"

"N-no, of course not." I stammered, not expecting that response from her so suddenly. "Just… it's what's been constantly happening."

"Well, I'm not like that." Diana stated. "I've always been the person who's less strict when it comes to rules. You've seen it a hundred times at this point, haven't you?"

I thought about that for a moment. "You do have a point."

"Exactly. Now just relax for a minute, I'll be right back with food." she said one more time, before disappearing through another door off to the side.

Within the next ten minutes, a small assortment of food was on the table. I assumed there was enough to feed everyone once Snowy and Silk woke up, but I quickly was brought back to reality once Diana sat down.

We were quiet as we ate, which felt… off. I think Diana wanted to say something, but she was turning over and over in her head.

I, on the other hand, was still distracted by something. I just remembered my spirit friends, who were still deep within my mind. They said I could still use their powers, but it would be a bit harder…

Slowly, I train my eyes on a small butter dish, away from Diana's line of sight. I began to concentrate on the dish, willing it to rise on a current of air.

It shook slightly, but nothing happened otherwise.

I tried again, this time concentrating harder. It shook, and slowly rose, but fell back to the table just as fast.

Groaning internally, I tried one last time. 'Come on, Aira… don't fail me now…' I pleaded, concentrating as hard as I possibly could.

The dish floated upwards, and stayed there. I did it.

'Okay… that still works.' I thought, letting the dish back down to the table.

"Cameron? Are you okay?" Diana asked me, looking at me strangely. "You've been staring into space for nearly two minutes now."

"O-oh, right, sorry." I apologize, swearing internally for forgetting Diana was still right there. "I was just… thinking."

"Let me guess…" Diana asked softly. "About… home?"

My thoughts instantly shifted over to Susie and Andr.

"Y… yeah…" I managed, looking down at the ground. "Dear Notch, they've probably lost so much sleep worrying about me and Snowy…"

Then, an idea struck me. "Hey… you wouldn't happen to have any paper, feathers, and an ink sac, would you?" I asked.

"What are you…" Diana started to ask, before realizing what I wanted to do. "You… you want to write to them, don't you?"

I nodded. "I need to tell them that we are okay. They think I could be dead for all I know. Please, just do me this one thing."

Diana seemed to be wrestling with it for a moment, but then she looked at my face. I could see into her gray eyes that she really did want to let me, but was worried about… something. What that was was beyond me. But I also saw… she was remembering what I told her when we were at the bathroom.

How I lost everything that day. Now I was asking her to contact the one set of people I considered friends and family.

Finally, she sighed. "Oh… okay, I'll let you, but just this once." she said, with difficulty. "I'll find a spider that'll deliver it. Just… wait there for a minute."

Slowly, she left the room, and came back a few minutes later with few pieces of paper, a feather pen, and an inkwell. "Here. I'll be back in a few once I find someone to take it, okay? Write quickly."

With that she left, leaving me to think about what I should write.

I knew erasing something was a pain, so I had to be careful with what I said. Slowly, I filled the page with what I hoped would reassure Susie and Andr.

I finished my letter and wrapped it into a scroll with a piece of string I found in my bag, and not a moment too soon. Diana walks in, with her a rather disgruntled looking spider, who looked like it just woke up.

"Here. This is Cameron, the one I told you about." Diana spoke to the spider. "Cameron, this is one of our fastest spider mercenaries. He'll get your letter over to your friends. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets it there before lunch."

The spider chattered in its native tongue. "Err, right. Cameron, where's the letter?" Diana asked.

I held out my letter to my friends, and the spider took it with one of its hairy legs. I suddenly had a slight chill run down my spine.

"Please make sure it get's there." I pleaded with the spider. "My friends need to read it."

The spider chattered again, and even if I couldn't tell exactly what it said, I'm faintly sure it said something along the lines of, "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

With that, the spider scuttled out the room much faster than I was expecting. "Huh. You weren't kidding when you said it was fast."

"You should be happy he agreed." Diana said lightly. "I had to pull him away from the other half of his breakfast just to get him to listen."

It was quiet for the briefest of moments, before I stood up and hugged Diana into my arms. "Thank you, Diana. This means a lot to me. It really does."

"D-don't mention it." Diana stammered, taken off guard by my sudden hug.

"I really do mean it." I repeated, hugging her a little closer to my body as thanks.

Slowly, she pulled away after a while, though I think she wanted to keep hugging me. "N-now… back to food." she got out, sitting down at the table.

This time, though, she sat down next to where I was sitting. But I didn't question it. I simply sat down and continued to eat.

All the while hearing her slowly scoot closer and closer to me.

…

 _A few hours later…_

 _Back at the house…_

 _Susie POV…_

"*sigh*... Cameron…"

I was sighing with my head in my hands. The tears had stopped long ago, but I still wanted to cry. Cameron and Snowy were gone. I had no idea if they were really gone, or what.

Fear was taking over again. I was afraid that I lost Cameron forever.

'N-no… Cameron's not dead.' I told myself again. 'He's a tough guy. He'll find a way back home, I'm sure of it…'

But those words weren't as effective at calming me down as they were before. I was afraid for my love's safety. I had no idea where they were, I…

I…

"Hey, hey… calm down."

Andr was here again. We were both sitting by the fire, thinking about those two. Now she was once again comforting me.

"I know they're still out there." she told me, rubbing my back. "They'll come back. I know it."

"But… what if they don't?" I asked.

"No no… don't think like that." Andr told me gently. "They're still alive. I know it."

"But… how do we know for sure? What if they aren't?" I asked, not for the first time.

The kidnapping of Cameron and Snowy hit us both hard, but I think it hit me harder, maybe because I knew both of them the most. I was trying to stay strong for them, but…

"I… I don't know if I can keep living like this." I admitted, my body shaking with fear. "I… I'm afraid that they've… they've…"

"Hey hey, calm down…" Andr said to me, slowly pulling me deeper into her hug. "I can't say why, but I just feel it. They're still out there. They will come back."

"I… I don't know what to think anymore." I said, my voice empty.

And suddenly, a knock came on the door.

We looked over at the door at the sudden knock. Whoever was out there knocked once more, then apparently gave up.

I slowly got up and opened the door a crack. Whoever was there was long gone, but they had left something on the doorstep.

A note, wrapped up into a little scroll.

Curious, I picked it up and brought it in. Andr saw what I was holding. "A letter?"

"I… never get letters." I murmured, pulling off the string and unfurling the note.

I didn't even need to read the first two words before something clicked in my mind. "This… this is Cameron's handwriting…!"

"What?!" Andr yelled. "Read it!"

"Okay, okay…" I started to read.

"'Dear Susie and Andr,'

'I hope you both are doing okay. If you haven't figured out by now, it's me. Cameron. I'm fine.'

'Snowy's fine too, she's asleep as I'm writing this. So she's probably up by the time you get it.'

'I've been taken by some sort of skeleton-spider faction, called the 'S&S Corps.' Really original naming, if you ask me.'

'The reason they took me is because they need a human to do a certain job for them. Honestly, a simple knock on the door would've been fine, but nope, gotta resort to kidnapping.'

'I don't want to say too much in case someone reads this before they get it to you, but they want me to get a crown of some kind from an old skeleton king. As soon as that's over with, they say they'll let Snowy and me go without incident.'

'I want to believe them, I really do, but I don't know if they mean it. You know me, I have a hard time trusting others who don't start of very well with me, with Andr being the exception.'

'They've been feeding us every day and giving us a place to sleep, so they definitely don't want us dead, but they've been monitoring us quite a lot, so we aren't free either.'

'I had to write to you guys over there. I needed to show you that I'm not dead. Andr, Susie, please… we will be back soon. I promise… no, forget that. I swear on my life, one way or another, I will find my way home to you.'

'I miss you both so much. Snowy does too.'

'We really want to go home. And we will, or may Notch strike me down.'

'I miss you both so much. Stay strong for us.'

'I love you both.'

'Signed, Cameron.'" I wrapped up, my hands shaking a little bit.

Andr and I were quiet for the longest time. I kept rereading the letter, scanning it over and over, repeating the same thing in my mind.

' _Cameron is still alive.'_

"Susie…" Andr barely whispered.

"Cameron… he's…" I said in the same whisper. "He's okay…"

"I told you." Andr said, her voice just barely breaking at the end. "I said that he was okay."

"He's… he's okay…!" I started tearing up. "He's… he's really okay!"

The difference in my attitude now was like night and day. I… I felt hope again. Cameron… he was alive! He really was okay!

"We… we have to find him…!" I got out, almost letting tears fall. "We… we have to get to him…! We-"

"Woahwoahwoah! Susie, calm down!" Andr interrupted, holding me by the shoulders. "What are you saying? We can't help if we don't know where to even begin looking for him. Not to mention, what would we even do if we found him?"

I thought about that, my mood slightly going down. "O-oh… right…"

"We just have to wait a little longer." Andr said, now looking more determined than ever. "Hopefully whatever that job is that Cameron has to do, it will be over soon and he can come back home."

"Yeah…" I agreed, standing up. "I'll be right back…"

I slowly made my way over to the bathroom. I leaned on the sink counter in front of the small mirror, looking into my eyes.

"Cameron… I hope you come home soon." I said gently. "I want you to come home so badly… please come back to me."

I slowly imagined Cameron looking at me through the mirror. I kept gently repeating, "Cameron… please come home…"

 _Meanwhile, back at the S &S Corps HQ…_

 _Cameron POV…_

"*sigh*..."

I slowly felt myself relaxing. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because I was reading a book that I hadn't read before for once. Maybe it was because there was a calm, crackling fire in front of me. Maybe it was Snowy, curled up next to me, reading alongside me.

We were in a living room of sorts, with a fireplace and a bookshelf and all that. The lack of chairs was slightly annoying, but in the end it didn't matter.

I finished reading the first half of the book right when I heard a door opening behind me. "Come on you two." came Silk's voice. "We have info."

I shut the book and stood up, Snowy right there with me. "Come on Snowy. Let's see what they got this time." I told her, stretching.

Snowy nodded, and followed me as we walked out the door. I couldn't help but noticed how… lax Silk and Diana were becoming. Either they really did trust us, or maybe they just didn't want to think of themselves as a nanny or something. I swear, they would be fine just letting us roam the halls without their presence any second.

Anyway, we finally arrived back at the main briefing room, as I'd grown used to calling it. Diana was already here, looking both concerned and determined, which was a very odd mix indeed.

"Ah. Cameron, Snowy. Sit, sit." Diana said offhandedly. I knew instantly something was bothering her.

Once we sat down, Silk started talking. "So, to keep this simple, our recon team that we sent out went out to the same spot where we think the crown is. And they swear one hundred percent that the crown is there."

"Unfortunately…" Diana slowly piped up, rolling a crushed ball of paper in her hand. "They were caught, and barely escaped. But they lost the original drawing in the process, so they had to make this one on the fly.

Diana slowly uncrumpled the paper, letting me and Snowy see it. Again, the drawing was rather poor, and it was hard to make anything detailed out.

Snowy slowly looked up. "I… I still don't think this is enough to just go all out on a raid mission to find it."

"I WISH we could do a raid." Silk replied earnestly. "That'd be WAY more fun. But, unfortunately, we'd most likely get caught, and even if we didn't security would most likely be increased."

"Hmmm… there's gotta be a better-" I started to say, before an idea struck me like a horse kicking me in the face. "I got it!"

I grabbed my bag and poured out my stuff, sorting through it all. "Book, book, bucket, wood, iron, sticks, don't touch that, book…" I said, glancing over at Diana about to grab some loose papers.

Finally, under a small amount of sticks, I found my repaired camera. "If you can afford another day for recon, this will do the trick." I told the two, shoving my stuff back into my bag.

Diana and Silk looked confused. "Ummm… how is a box going to help us?" Silk asked honestly.

"You two haven't heard of a camera before?" I asked, picking up the small device. "You twist this part, you hold it up to your eye and look here… and then push this button and-"

 _SNAP!_

"OW!" Silk yelled, covering her eyes as the flash hit. "What the hell was that?!"

"Ow…" Diana moaned, blinking spots out of her eyes. "A little warning would've been nice.

"Sorry." I replied. Slowly, a picture came out the bottom of it. I waved it a few times, and the image came through clearly. "See? Perfect quality." I said, holding it out to them.

They looked amazed at the picture of them that I just took. "That's… that's amazing!" Diana exclaimed.

"You humans really do come up with the neatest stuff." Silk mused, looking into the photo. "How's that even work?"

"Something with lighting and mirrors and stuff like that, I think?" I responded. "I think it's still got enough film for a few more shots. Get your recon crew to use this, and you'll get a clear image. Just make sure they hold it still when the picture is taken, or else it'll be blurry."

Silk looked honestly impressed with me. "I'll be damned. You actually did something impressive today. It's a first."

"Master ALWAYS comes up with the best plans." Snowy told her happily, her tail wagging back and forth.

"Well, you might want to come with me, then." Silk told me. "You're gonna have to teach the recon team how to work that thing."

"Me?" I asked.

"Yeah you. You're the only one here who has even a slight knowledge of operating that thing." Silk explained.

"Eh, fair point." I agreed. "Hopefully they can hold the thing."

Snowy could already guess what that meant. "I guess I can't go along?"

"Not this time." Silk lightly agreed. "Sorry."

Snowy sighed. "It's fine. I'm used to it at this point…"

I glanced up at Diana. While still looking slightly afraid of Snowy, she nevertheless steeled herself and told me, "I'll make sure she'll be fine. Don't worry."

I looked at Snowy. Despite being sad about being separate from me again, she also steeled herself and stood up to face me. "I'll be fine, Master. You go ahead."

I sighed dejectedly. Here we were, about to be separated again. Even if it was only for a short time, I could still feel sadness about being away from Snowy starting to build.

To ease my nerves, and maybe her's too, I gently pulled her into a short hug, rubbing her head as well. She lightly moaned in approval.

Once I pulled away, I turned to Silk and said, "Okay, let's go."

 _Snowy POV…_

And thus, Master left me. Again.

Okay, I knew it was for a good reason this time, but still, I hate being away from Master. It's just… a feeling in my chest. If Master isn't there, then that feeling becomes almost impossible to ignore.

Anyway, I slowly laid my head on the table, remembering the feeling of Master petting my head. I sometimes wonder, why _that_ spot? Why is that spot so… appealing to be pet? I mean, besides that fact that I'm half wolf.

As I'm think, I hear Diana stand up and walk around the table, sitting back down on the chair next to me. I hear her sigh as well.

I look up to see Diana lost in thought. Her eyes were closed, her chin resting on her hand.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, hoping to start some conversation. Helps sate the boredom.

"Oh… just… thinking." Diana murmured, resting her head on the table. "I really hope this all works out in the end. For your sakes, and ours."

"Master doesn't seem all that convinced that the crown even exists…" I muttered.

"He'll see. Once we get the training done on that camera of his, we can send the recon team out one last time and then get definitive proof of the crown."

Slowly, I sat up. "Hey… can you give me some background on that crown in the first place? I'd hate to run up there just to have it be worthless."

"Believe me, it's not worthless." Diana told me, sitting up herself. "If it was, then the king who used it last would never had been in such a reign over skeleton and spider kind."

"Yeah…" I murmured, looking down at my feet.

"What?" Diana asked.

"It's… it's just…" I started, trying to tie the knot down on my thoughts. "I'm… not sure if that would be the best thing. I've read some of Master's history books, and… there's something I've learned in them. Something that stays true no matter the time, place, or situation."

"What's that?" Diana asked, curious.

"It's that history tends to repeat itself." I said. "No matter what happens, no matter how strong you may be, history will generally repeat itself. If… if someone puts on that crown… who's to say it won't be stolen, or that new king will be killed again?"

Diana was quiet for a count of five.

"S-sorry. Did I get into a touchy subject again?" I apologized.

"No, it's not that." Diana replied slowly. "It's just… I've heard similar things all the time. We know the dangers. I don't want to be… reminded of things that can happen again."

I was quiet for a few seconds. I wasn't sure what to say.

"History may repeat itself…" Diana mumbled, glancing over to me. "But that doesn't mean we can't try to change it."

We were quiet for a few moments. I wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm… I'm sorry." I repeated.

"Don't be. Thank you for being concerned." Diana told me, sitting up and facing me.

We simply watched each other for a few moments, until I remembered what happened last night. Blush started to cover my cheeks, and I looked away from Diana, too embarrassed to face her.

Diana started to ask something, then stopped. I guess she realized what I was thinking about. She seemed embarrassed to look too.

We didn't say anything for awhile. Finally, I found just enough courage to ask, "Um… can… can we… pretend… you never saw what happened yesterday?"

"I…" Diana started. Her cheeks were tindged with red. "So… that's why… he cares so much about you, huh?"

"Y… yes." I responded, feeling like I was in a massive spotlight. "We… we like each other… very much."

"I… see." Diana said. But… I sensed more than just an embarrassed tone.

Was… was there disappointment in there as well?

Slowly, I started to think about that. Why… why would she sound disappointed?

But before I could get any solid conclusions out of the way, I heard Diana moving again. She stood up, and leaned against the wall. She seemed deep in thought about something.

"I… I've been… thinking…" Diana slowly said, sounding both nervous and intrigued. "Re… remember how I said before that I… I was scared of the sun? I'm afraid that I'll burn like other skeletons?"

"Y-yes…?" I responded, nervous that she would start getting upset about that again.

"W-well… I… I want… I want you and… you and Cameron to… to help me." Diana slowly said.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"I… I'm going to wait until just before sunrise. Then, I'll wake you and him up, and… go outside. We'll… we'll see if I… I can stand it." Diana got out. "Will… will you do it?"

I was quiet. "What… what if you do start to get hurt?"

"There's… there's trees nearby where I want to look, so… if it comes to that, I can… duck under." Diana responded, growing more nervous by the second.

I hesitated. Diana must have been thinking worst case scenarios in her head while I thought, because she suddenly bowed her head. "Y-you know what, never mind. I'd rather not risk it. I… I'll be fine-"

I stood up and stood in front of her, shaking my head rapidly. "Nonono! You should at least try!"

Diana seemed taken back by my sudden outburst. "B-but… if I b-burn up…"

"We'll bring a water bucket or something!" I offered. "Surely this place has iron sitting around somewhere, right? The instant we see fire, we'd put you out."

I pleaded her with my eyes. It wasn't healthy for her to be afraid of the sun. The sunrise and sunset were the most beautiful parts of the day. She deserved to see them without fear.

Diana started to shake a little bit. "I… I don't… I can't…"

"No, you can!" I denied, tackling into her. I nearly knocked her down, but I didn't care. "You… you have to face your fears. I mean… do you really want to spend the rest of your life never knowing what the day is like?"

Diana was still beyond nervous, both of my sudden attack and facing her fears. "B-bu-but…!"

"I… I want you to see the sunrise. I want you to experience it. I want you to feel the warmth of the sunlight on your skin…"

The moment the word 'warmth' escaped my lips, I noticed Diana visibly shiver. The idea seemed more appealing now, I could see it in her eyes.

"Th… the sunrise is warm…?" Diana asked. I could swear there were tiny stars in her eyes.

"Yeah." I responded, looking deep into her eyes. "It just leaves you with a… a gentle, warm feeling in your body. There's, well… not really anything that compare to it."

Diana shook, and resisted a little bit, but her defense ultimately cracked. "O… okay. I… I'll do it. Next sunrise."

"That's the spirit!" I agreed happily. "We'll tell Master as soon as he gets back!"

"Someone ring for me?" came Master's voice.

I quickly pulled away from hugging Diana and whipped around. Right there was Master, shouldering his bag. Silk wasn't near him though.

"Well, that was quick." I commented.

"Where's-" Diana started to ask.

"She lead me here, and said that she had to go check on someone or something. No idea." Master answered, looking back to me. "You rang?"

"Ummm…" Diana started. She quickly let go off me and slowly explained what she had planned, with some support from me.

"Wait, so you want to go outside tomorrow and see if you can stand it?" Master asked, curiously tilting his head.

"Y… yes…" Diana murmured. She seemed excited, nervous, and embarrassed all at the same time.

Master was quiet for a few moments, before shuffling through his bag. "Well… I do have a bucket for water, so… that might help."

Diana had stars in her eyes. "Wait… you really will help? You're not joking?"

"Why wouldn't I?" came Master's reply.

Diana had stars in her eyes. She looked back at me. "I-I… I don't… don't know what to say…"

I glanced over at Master, smiling. "Diana's so happy, isn't she?" I asked.

"I think she more surprised that we'd actually do this with her." Master said, walking over to me and Diana.

Diana was still standing in place, so happy she was frozen in place. "Th… thank you… thank you both. So much."

"It's no trouble." I responded politely.

"I… I'm still really nervous though…" Diana admitted.

"It's not that big of a deal, Diana." Master reassured, patting Diana's shoulder. "It's just standing outside, after all."

"W-well, yeah, but…" Diana stammered, glancing around at nothing in particular. "It's something I've feared my whole life. I… I'm really scared… and anxious… and a little itchy…?"

Master and I both snickered at that last one. "Come on, don't be itchy." I gently teased. "It's just standing outside. Either way, you'll feel better knowing you at least tried, right?"

"I… I guess…" Diana hesitantly agreed.

Master wandered over to one of the chairs near the table and took a seat, sighing a little bit. "Welp, guess all we can do now is wait, huh?"

"Yeah… seems like it." Diana agreed, sitting next to him. I sat down on the other side of Master.

And so… we waited.

 **Aaaaand there we go.**

 **Okay, so, I know this was long overdue, and it was shorter than normal. I get that.**

 **But I still think that I managed to get what I wanted to say in this chapter, and not to mention this chapter has been with me for so long, I'm burned out from it. Hopefully a new chapter will recharge me.**

 **Again, sorry about the long delay on chapters. I orginally planned to have this chapter out on Christmas, or at the very latest New Years Eve/Day.**

 **Either way, Merry Belated Christmas (Or whatever you may or may not celebrate.) and Happy Belated New Year! 2017! Yeah!**

 **As always, if you guys ever want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your in-game username, what server, and when. And please, don't ever forget about my Minecraft Survival server! I could do well with some more company… please, I wantz more friendz. (XD I'm just messing around with that last bit, but please, do ask if you can join if you want.)**

 **Until next time, my fellow readers/authors/reviews, stay awesome. =D**


	37. The Start of a New Dawn

**Yah-dah yah-dah yah-dah, ButterHunter here, new chapter, blah blah blah, let's read already! ;D Oh, and hey, lines now!**

* * *

Chapter 37: The Start of a New Dawn

 _Cameron POV…_

And suddenly, it was time.

"Cameron…?" a voice said in my ear, a hand gently shaking my shoulder.

I slowly stirred, then managed to pry my eyes open. Diana was right there, Snowy next to her. Both of them looked in way better shape than me, though a little tired still.

"H… huh…?" I muttered sleepily. "Wh… what time is it…?"

"It's thirty minutes till dawn." Diana responded, glancing side to side nervously. "I have just enough time to get you both up to the surface before the sun arrives. Most of the other monsters should have retreated into caves at this point, to get away from the… the sun."

Slowly, I rubbed my eyes and sat up, stretching. "Al… alright, I'm ready. Let's do this before I fall asleep."

Snowy helped pull me up, which kinda helped me wake up, though only slightly. "So, how are we doing this?" I asked.

Diana shifted. "Umm… well… I, um, briefly talked this over with Snowy, and… as you two are still technically been held here, I… well, I can't just SHOW you how to get the the exit of the building. That'd cause a lot of headaches for everyone. So… in order to keep things safe, you… you both have to put these on."

Diana pulled out some cloth from seemingly nowhere. I was confused, until I suddenly noticed that the each pair of cloth was wrapped in a large loop. "Are you saying… we seriously have to wear blindfolds?"

"It's just until we get outside." Diana reassured, holding her hands out. "Once we exit, and I'm reasonably sure it's safe, I'll let you take them off. Just… please?"

I sighed, but I already knew that arguing was pointless at this juncture. I took the blindfold and put it on, with a little help from Diana. I assume Snowy did the same, if the light squeak that came from her when Diana tightened it a little too much was any indication.

"Okay… so, just… Cameron, take my hand, Snowy take his, and we'll be on our way." Diana explained, taking ahold of my hand. I flinched a little bit, but didn't react any further than that. I gently reached over to where I remember Snowy being and found her shoulder, taking her hand a moment later.

The trip to the surface was uneventful, save for me somehow almost running into two walls and an open door along the way. I tried to see if I could remember the path, but it became too complicated. Left, forward for a minute, right, right, left, up some stairs, left, right, … hell, I didn't even know if we were passing any other crossroads that may or may not have been there.

Finally, we heard a large metal door opening, a gate or something opening, another door, and…

I heard it first. The sounds of the outside world. Wind. Leaves. Rustling grass.

For a moment, I realized how much I missed this.

Then, I felt Diana tugging on my hand, so I had to keep moving. Several steps later, and…

"Okay, you can take them off now." Diana said, sounding even more nervous.

I took off the blindfold and was greeted with…

"W-wow…" Snowy murmured, her eyes widening.

"It's… beautiful." I added, speechless.

We were on a small hill, which had the most beautiful scenery you could imagine. Right in front of us, a large river ran into a huge lake, with trees and flowers blooming everywhere. But past that, a ginormous mountain range loomed in the distance, shaped so that there was a large hole in the middle of it, leading to who knows where.

"It's… amazing." I said breathlessly. "It's… like nobody has touched this place in hundreds of years. This is all… nature."

"Yeah." Diana agreed, looking out at the scenery herself. "We built our facility right under here, because even we like to see the beautiful things in life. We built it for that reason, and that even if we wanted to tear apart this land, then our place would be exposed for everyone to see."

"Every member of our facility as some point comes here to see the area." she added. "And… well, now you get to see it too."

"I…" Snowy started to speak. "I don't know what to say. I wish this kind of view was at home."

We were all quiet for some time. Then, I remember why we came out here. "O-oh yeah, uh… is that river the only water source close by here?"

Diana seemed to snap out of it as well. She remembered why we came out here. "Oh, um… yeah, just… be fast, okay?"

"Of course." I agreed, running for the river.

Thankfully, no monsters came out of the shadows to fight me. I guess Diana was right about them all leaving early in prep for the sun.

I reached the water's edge and quickly gathered as much as possible into the bucket I had on me.

" _W… water…"_

"Huh?" I called out, looking around. "Wait… Vivianna?"

" _Water… life."_ Vivianna spoke softly in my mind.

I instantly splashed some water in my face from the river. Slowly, her voice became much clearer, and it helped wake me up in the process.

" _Cameron… you're outside! You did it!"_ she praised.

"To an extent." I mumbled. I quickly told her everything about Diana and facing her fears. Vivianna didn't seem to like that.

" _You… you have to head back as soon as this is over? But… you're outside! If you just…"_

"Look, Vivianna, I want to grab Snowy and run away as fast as I can too, but… I can't. Diana and Silk… they need me." I told her.

" _Wh-what?! Don't tell me you're becoming friendly with your own kidnappers?!"_ Vivianna shouted at me.

"Look, things are happening faster than I know how to deal with." I explained. "All I know for sure is that they need a job done, and the sooner I can get that job done for them, the sooner Snowy and I can leave one hundred percent peacefully. Besides, even if I did just start bolting, I have no idea where home even is. We could spend years trying to find out where it is."

Vivianna was quiet for a long time. Then, in a much calmer tone, she asked, " _But… do you have a plan for that job?"_

"At the moment? No." I answered honestly. "I'm kinda just riding the current at the moment. But the instant I know I can go without consequence, you better believe I will."

Slowly, I noticed the sky looked a shade lighter than before. Sunrise was approaching. "I'd better get going…" I murmured, hefting the bucket.

" _*sigh*... for your sake I hope this goes well…"_ I heard Vivianna murmur.

" _I'm sure everything will be fine Vivi."_ Aira quietly spoke up.

" _..."_ Vivianna was quiet.

I soon found Snowy and Diana waiting. Well, I say that, but it seemed more like Diana was waiting ouf of anxiety and fear. Hardly can blame her, really.

"I… I'll be fine… I'll be fine… I'll be fine…" I heard her chanting to herself softly as I approached.

"You'll be fine, Diana. Master's back with the water." Snowy reassured, gesturing to me.

"First sign of fire, and I'll put you out." I added, setting the bucket on the ground next to me.

Diana sighed, and tried to psych herself up again. But the longer we sat there, the less confident she seemed to become. By the time the sun was about to rise, Diana was an inch away from wanting to give up and hide.

"I-it's fine… I-I'll be f-fine…" she stammered, seeing the moon start to slip beyond the horizon.

"Hmm… Diana, close your eyes for a second." I suddenly instructed.

"H-huh?"

"Just… just close your eyes." I repeated.

Slowly, curiosity of where I was going with this ebbing through her fear, she gently shut her eyes. "Now… deep breaths. Follow after me… in… out… in… out…"

Slowly, she followed with my deep breathing. The sun just barely peeked out over the horizon.

"Just relax…" I gently told her, getting down to her level, water at the ready. "Breath in… breath out. Breath in… breath out."

Slowly, her shoulders started to lose tension. The sun rose further.

"Wh… where are you going with-" Diana started to say, opening her eyes slowly.

"No no no… keep the eyes closed." I gently whispered. Slowly, she closed them. "Just keep listening to my voice… deep breath in… deep breath out."

The sun fully came past the horizon. This was the moment of truth. Skeletons and zombies would start burning at this moment.

I slowly repeated, "One more time… breath in… breath out… breath in…" as I keep a tight grip on the water.

A second passed. Then two. The seconds turned into a minute. Diana remained perfectly fine.

"Umm… C-Cameron?" Diana asked, starting to get nervous.

"Diana. Say hello to the morning sun." I introduced, a grin starting to form on my lips.

"H-huh?" she asked, opening her eyes. She looked over, and saw the sun steadily rising through the sky.

And realized she wasn't burning.

"I… I'm… I'm…" Diana slowly repeated, the shock at actually being okay hitting her hard. "I'm… okay… I'm not burning…"

She gently stood on her once shaky legs, me and Snowy following suit. Diana stared at the bright sun, to the point where I almost had to remind her that the sun could still burn her eyes.

"I… I don't have to worry…" she told herself, apparently disbelieving her own eyes. "I… I can stand the day…"

A light chuckle escaped her. "I… I'm free."

"Yes you are, Diana." I agreed. "Yes you are."

She looked over at me and Snowy. To say that her face held overwhelming joy would be the understatement of the year.

Faster than either of us could track, suddenly Diana's arms were wrapped around us. "Thank you… thank you… thank you."

She was visibly shaking. Clearly she was so scared by the thought of something bad happening. Now that she's certain she's okay… well, there's a lot more that she can look forward too.

I paused for only a moment, before fully hugging Diana. Snowy followed suit mere moments later. I gently chuckled as Diana snuggled deeper into the hug.

We stayed out there for… at least an hour more. By then the sun had risen fully, and it was the start of a brand new day.

But… all good things must come to an end.

Slowly, dread at the feeling of returning into the cold facility below made me feel… deeply sad.

As bad as I felt, Diana must have felt a hundred times worse. I could see it in her eyes. She wanted to stay out here in the warm glow of the sun forever.

Alas, even she knew we couldn't stay out here forever. So, me and Snowy reluctantly put our blindfolds on and made our way back into the facility.

It didn't take long after the fact that a familiar voice shouted out at us.

"Diana! What the hell?! Where and what were you doing?!" Silk yelled loudly.

"Umm… is it safe to take these off?" Snowy asked hesitantly, possibly pointing to her blindfold.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead…" Diana mumbled.

As we took the things off, I was greeted to a extremely pissed off Silk standing in front of us, her arms crossed and a foot tapping loudly on the smooth-stone floor.

"Well, um… you see, Silk…" Diana slowly started, her eyes closed. She seemed to be debating with herself about something.

Then she nodded gently to herself, opened her eyes confidently, and calmly stated, "I went outside and watched the sunrise."

It took a second for Silk to process what Diana just said. When it fully processed, Silk was… dumbfounded. She kept opening her mouth to say something, but all that came out was incomprehensible gibberish.

Finally, she shook her head and asked with a slightly shaky voice, "Y-you… you… s-stood… OUTSIDE?! With the sun out?!"

"Yep!" Snowy replied happily. "Me and Master were there for emotional support." I snickered at that.

Silk was at a complete loss for words. She kept looking like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Diana had a light smile on her face. It seemed she rarely ever stumped Silk this hard, and she was secretly relishing the moment.

Finally, Silk paused, took a quick breath, and started talking again. "W-well… if you're there… then you're obviously okay… and immune to it…"

Diana just looked at her friend, that smile curling the edges of her lips. Snowy and I had similar looks.

Eventually, Silk managed to pull herself together. She regained her serious tone and informed us, "W-well, while you were all doing that, the spider group came back today. And they seem to have solid evidence this time."

That one sentence got the entire attention of everyone. "To the meeting room?" Diana asked.

"Where else?" Silk fired back, though jokingly.

It took a good five minutes to make it back, but to be fair we were all walking. Probably would've made it there sooner if we ran, but no one seemed like it.

Anyway, once we reached the meeting room, Silk instantly got down to business. "Here's the proof. We finally have SOLID proof that this is our crown.

Snowy, Diana, and I all looked at the small photo I took from Silk. The picture was perfect: no blurry edges, no imperfect focus. It showed a large stone brick wall, with a few windows along it. But the photo seemed focused on one particular window: the one in the very center. And in that window, I could very clearly make out what was an unmistakable crown of bones.

"I don't believe it…" I murmured… "It is there, huh?"

"I told you! I knew it was there!" Diana happily stated, even MORE giddy.

"Huh. So it is really there… and you both weren't joking." Snowy stated.

"Exactly. So now it's time to explain our master plan." Silk told us. Diana parted from me and Snowy and stood next to her friend.

"So now that we know the crown IS real, what's next?" I asked.

"The plan is simple." Diana replied. "One team of spiders will climb up the side of the wall, with some skeletons also on their backs as jockeys. Naturally, there are guards on top of the tower, but they regularly rotate around every hour on the hour, so it's safe to say we have at least five or so minutes while they get their stuff together. Even with that, that still isn't a lot of time. So, we came up with the next best thing."

Silk reached behind her and grabbed a bag that I didn't even know she had with her. Maybe she only just put it on?

In any case, the first thing she pulled out was a full set of iron armor, minus the helmet, which was leather, and an iron sword. "This is the armor we observed those guards carry, and their weapon. If we can sneak you in, Cameron, say the night before, and get you on duty at that area, we'd have a full hour to do our job." she told me.

"That's it?" I asked, curious. "I just have to get into there, sneak into working there for an hour, and nothing else?"

"Of course… there's the getaway." Diana mumbled gently. "Once we have the crown, we need to have a way to get you out. If you are posing as a guard, we can't just give them your name… nor can you just waltz out the door once we give the signal. You'll be expected to stay for the full hour, but…"

I suddenly remembered my spirit friends. Maybe, if there was water, or I concentrate hard enough…

"I'll deal with that when we come to it. Don't worry." I replied confidently. "So what's Snowy's role in this?"

"Easy. She's our last resort." Silk replied, a smile starting to form. "Say we have the crown, things are working okay… and then guards burst into the room. We're cornered, and one false movement might be the end of us. That's where she comes in. In addition to supporting us and doing what we say, she'll be our distraction if things go to shit. I mean, look at her. You can't NOT look into those eyes once they start watering."

Snowy seemed almost… proud at her ability to make others listen. Slowly, she turned to me, and I realized she had her Puppy Dog eyes. "Masterrrrr…" she slowly mumbled, holding my arm lovingly. "Can you pleeeeaaase hug me? I'm soooo cold…"

Needless to say, three seconds later and my arms were tightly wrapped around Snowy, holding her closely to me. Snowy was giggling softly behind my back. I cursed my weakness to her cuteness.

"Yeeep, that'll do it." Diana pointed out. "Hopefully it's strong enough to work on other people as well."

"Master… you're so warm…" Snowy cooed in my ear. "I love it… so much…"

I think she wanted to kiss me in that moment, but she couldn't with Diana and Silk RIGHT THERE. So she seemed a bit more content with whispering sweet-nothings into my ear.

"Alright you two. Break it up." Silk instructed. She might understand us and our relationship, but even she had a limit.

Slowly, Snowy pulled away, while still holding my left arm tightly. "So… I just have to act normal?" she asked sweetly.

"Just like that." Silk encouraged. "But only if things go bad, and odds are they won't. Probably. Hopefully."

"Big vote of confidence there…" I muttered softly. I'm pretty sure everyone heard it, though. "Then wait, what are you two doing in this? We still have a deal that you'll do this job with us instead of just us alone."

"Easy. We're the ones doing the heavy lifting." Diana replied. "We'll be with the spider climbing team, as will Snowy, and we'll get into the room with that crown."

"Then, while we're there, we'll break in though this window." Silk continued, pointing at the window with the crown in the picture. "Once there, we reach the case holding the crown and replace it with a convincing fake a team has assembled here. We open the cage the real crown is in, hopefully without breaking either, and swap crowns before anything can happen. Then we get out fast, and then we all get on with our lives."

"Why do I get the terrible feeling in my gut that something is gonna go wrong…" I commented softly.

"See, it's talk like that that doesn't really help…" Silk responded.

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to just fit in with all those other people? I mean, I can't just apply for guard duty there and expect everything to magically fall into place." I added.

Diana thought about that for a moment. Then… she snapped her fingers. "Or maybe… it can."

Everyone, Silk included, looked confused. "What do you mean?" Snowy asked.

"I've done nighttime recon missions a few times at that city." Diana remembered. "And unless my memory is failing, I've noticed that there doesn't seem to be many people that work guard duty. Maybe they use a sort of volunteer system, and if you can get in there, then that'll make our job a hell of a lot easier."

"That's if that's true, though." Silk countered, a bit skeptical herself.

I quickly realized that we keep going on about what MIGHT happen that's bad. Who knows, maybe this whole thing really will work out like they said.

"Regardless," I interrupted gently. "At least you seem to have a decent plan here. That I can work with."

Diana and Silk nodded at me. "Exactly."

"So… when does this plan happen?" I asked, realizing I no one had said when we would be going on the raid.

"I think we need a little bit more time." Diana replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "At worst, another three days, at best, day after tomorrow."

"Believe me, once this is over, we get the order to release you. Then we take you home, we head back, and we all live happily ever after." Silk told us.

'I somewhat don't believe that. What does she think this is, a story or something?' I found myself thinking.

 **(*insert trumpet irony sound effect*)**

Regardless, I sighed and slumped my shoulders. "Well… that's a relief." I replied.

"Yeah… we'll finally get to see Mistress and Andr again…!" Snowy whispered to me.

Unfortunately, they heard that.

"Mistress and Andr?" Diana repeated, tilting her head. "Who's that?"

"Uhhh…" I stalled.

Silk was raising an eyebrow. "That can't mean anything good. What are you hiding?"

"Umm… well, ah… you see…" Snowy started, mumbling softly.

I sighed. "She means Susie and Andr. And they live with us back at our house. Susie's a slime and Andr's an enderman. Er, endergirl, I guess."

Snowy looked surprised at me. Her eyes asked me, 'Why are you-'

'Later.' I shot back.

Silk and Diana looked a little surprised themselves. "Woah woah woah, wait a minute…" Silk started. "I knew there were other people living with you, but… they're… a slime? And an enderman?"

"That… that means…" Diana slowly pieced together, her eyes widening.

"Yeah yeah, I more or less support human-monster peace. Is it really THAT big of a deal? Like come on." I complained. "SURELY you must have realized that there was SOME reason I didn't instantly try to hurt you the moment I could've?"

"We… we sort of just chalked it up to… well, the fact that you're stuck here, and… and that you didn't know anything about this building…" Diana replied softly.

"And that I was perfectly calm around Snowy…?" I pushed harder.

"...that, umm… we sort of agreed that wolves aren't as hostile around humans, so…" Silk added, her voice slowly getting weaker.

"AND the fact that I was flat-out kissing Snowy two nights ago, which should've been a least SOME sort of dead give-away?" I added on, blushing slightly. Snowy blushed harder, but she didn't say anything.

They had nothing for that one. They both seemed to be a tiny shade redder in the cheeks.

"So is it really that big of a surprise?" I asked honestly. "Or, for that matter, a big deal?"

Diana slowly seemed like she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Silk just seemed at a loss of what to say in general.

"I honestly don't see what the big fuss is." I continued when no one said anything.

Eventually, Diana finally put the words in her head together. "I… I guess it's… not that big of a deal, but… we were just… surprised."

"Yeah… honestly, we've… never known many people like that." Silk tagged on. "Hell, I'm sure there are plenty of people in THIS place that feel uncomfortable around us."

"Yeah… and… the only encounters we've had with humans before this…" Diana continued, her voice becoming barely a whisper. "...didn't… turn out so good. Like, 'swords and bows pointing at your face' not good."

I sighed. "Well… enough of that. Let's focus back on the task at hand: getting that crown back."

Diana and Silk seemed to agree, though a little bit reluctantly. "R-right." Silk responded. "Well… I guess we just wait a little while then. Not much else we can really do. Everyone knows their roles, we have a plan… can't really do much else."

"I agree. Nothing we can do but wait a few more days." Diana agreed.

I suddenly let out a small yawn. "Sorry. Still a little tired." I apologized.

"I'll take you back to the bedroom so you can sleep." Diana offered. "We did get up a little early, didn't we?"

"I feel fine." Snowy replied.

"Well… wolves naturally are nighttime creatures." I offered. "At least from my understanding anyway."

Snowy seemed to agree with that. "Well… I guess I'll just stay here and read."

I yawned again. "Here. Plenty in here…" I mumbled, handing her my bag. I kept my tool belt on, however, just in case.

"Alright, come on." Diana coaxed, gently nudging me towards the exit. I followed without complain.

Nearly five minutes passed while we walked over to the bedroom. Once we got there, I slowly started to sit down on the cot I had been sleeping in before.

"Cameron… you should take my bed." Diana insisted, grabbing my shoulder.

"No… no I'm fine." I declined. "This is actually pretty comfy."

"But my bed will be comfier. Come on, please?" Diana insisted.

'That's the second time she's tried to give me her bed.' I remembered. 'Is she just trying to be nice, or…?'

I had to admit though, when I glanced back over to Diana's bed, it… looked very soft… and warm… and…

"Well… maybe just a little…" I mumbled, slowly climbing up from the cot to her bed.

Diana looked very happy. "I just want you to be comfy while you nap. Either me or Silk will come get you later, so if we aren't there when you wake up, just give us a minute, okay?"

I nodded, slowly curling up under the sheets. Her bed was really, really warm… the pillow was very relaxing…

I slowly felt Diana run her hand up the lump that was the side of my body, resting on my cheek. "Sweet dreams… Cameron." I heard her whisper, slowly starting to hum a little tone.

I slowly passed out, a small smile still visible on my face.

 _A few moments later…_

I felt the normal feeling of returning to the dream world.

I opened my eyes, and…

"Cameron? Are you here?" a voice asked.

I slowly propped myself up from the ground and looked behind me. There, right behind me, was… Vivianna! She… she was back!

"V-Vivianna!" I called out, running over and almost tackling her into a hug. Thankfully, she caught me and held me close to her, running her slender fingers through my hair.

"Those pulls have started to stop." Vivianna told me once I pulled away. "I've mustered enough strength to fully manifest myself in this dream state."

"What about Aira?" I asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She's right there." Vivianna reassured me, pointing.

"Cameron!" Aira's voice called out to me. I turned from Vivianna to she her charging at me, arms open wide.

I caught her and hugged her tightly to me. "Aira… you're okay too…"

"Well, of course we are!" Aira happily exclaimed. "We're a lot tougher than you think!"

I pulled away from Aira and stared at the two spirits happily. "I've missed you guys so much…" I admitted. "I mean, I knew you were still in my head somewhere, but… I just couldn't help but be worried."

Vivianna and Aira couldn't hold themselves back. They quickly pulled me to them and sandwiched me between them, with Aira in front of me. I didn't have a moment to relax before she grabbed ahold of the back of my head and pulled it forward.

Our lips connected. I instantly accepted it. This… I missed this. Aira's soft, sweet lips. She smelled like flowers floating in the wind. Her small, petite body clung to mine like dandelion petals.

The moment she pulled away, blushing hard all the while, I felt myself getting turned around. Now I was facing Vivianna. The moment I collected my bearings, Vivianna clamped her arms tighter around me and deeply kissed me.

Her lips were just as soft, and warm. She tasted like fresh water. 'I missed this so much…' I mumbled in my head.

'We did too.' they responded, also in my mind.

For at least an hour, that's how we stayed. Just getting back together again, enjoying our company together.

Finally, I actually thought about doing something. But what to do? There's so many options…

Finally, an idea struck me. "Hey you two. How about we relax for a while? We've been seperated so long, let's just… relax."

They blinked, and when their eyes opened again, I had already changed the scenery. The area was now the edge of a bright, colorful forest, which bordered on a large lake, where we sat. I had more or less set up an entire picnic for us, just so that we could all relax together, and appreciate some together time.

Vivivanna and Aira smiled at me. "I'd like that." Vivianna agreed.

"I do too." Aira added.

The rest of the night was just us, eating food, playing water games, watching a sunset above the trees, building a campfire… it was the best. I never thought that food I made in my mind could taste so good.

Afterwards, towards the end of the night, I was leaning back against Vivianna, her back to a tree, letting her play with my hair while Aira rested her head against my stomach, looking like she just might fall asleep like that.

"Girls… this night was… so much fun." I told them, sinking further into Vivianna's embrace. "I really, really enjoyed tonight. I almost don't want to wake up again."

"We had fun too, Cameron." Vivianna whispered into my ear gently. "I really wish I didn't have to tell you something."

"You… have to tell me something?" I asked, slightly concerned.

"While we may have our forms back into the same plane of your mind…" Vivianna started, tugging at her loose dress collar. "We still don't have perfect control over water and air. You still can control them, it'll just take a lot of concentration."

"And please, don't start wanting to fly soon." Aira mumbled, seemingly down too. "I'm able to handle a lot, but my powers still feel… restricted."

I slowly got thinking. 'Why is this happening? This hasn't happened before, so there's really no connection I can make. The best I can figure is that someone in the S&S Corps is doing something to limit the powers, but then… who would know that I have these two in my head?'

I drew up a big fat blank at that question. The only person that I could think of was Snowy, but that… that was just plain ridiculous.

"Well… at least we can still be together like this." Vivianna offered, slowly relaxing her shoulders and resuming her soft hug on me.

"Yeah. I really like being like this. Just the three of us, in this peaceful place…" Aira commented offhandedly.

I half-expected something to change right as she said that. Thankfully, nothing did change. "Yeah… I really missed you both."

I couldn't help it anymore. I gently lifted Aira's head off my stomach and twisted around. Vivianna understood what I wanted, and held her arms out to accept me.

"Hey! I was resting there!" Aira indignantly yelled at me, right as my lips met Vivianna's.

'Sorry. I just really wanted to kiss her.' I told her in my mind. 'You're next, by the way.'

Aira's expression softened at that. "Mmm… I guess I can forgive you… but only this once." she offered.

'Fair enough.' I agreed, and resumed my kiss on Vivianna, savoring the bliss that followed suit.

I'd be surprised if we didn't stop kissing until five minutes passed. Vivianna held me so close to her, so tenderly, that I was almost afraid that she'd never let go.

Aira seemed impatient once I pulled away from Vivianna. "Can I have my turn now? I'm so boooooored."

I chuckled. "Patience is a virtue, and you should know that."

"Still, I want a kiss and I want it now!" Aira complained, pouting.

I chuckled again. "Alright, alright. Come here."

I pulled her to me and held her in place while kissing her. She reacted instantly by dropping her pouty act and instead pulling our bodies as close together as they could possibly be.

Another five minutes passed of me kissing Aira. I was in bliss and beyond. I pulled away from her and just… smiled at the two. I missed them so much…

Slowly, though, I knew I'd have to return back to the real world. I started feeling the sensation in my gut, telling me that it was time to get up.

So, I bid them goodbye for now. They seemed sad as well, but understood. Slowly, I felt my perception of the dream world fading, as I slowly returned to the real world.

 _The next day…_

I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. The covers were drawn over me, keeping me warm.

I slowly pushed them off of me and sat up. No one was in the room with me.

'Huh… guess I just wait until Silk or Diana shows up.' I thought.

Now that I had a chance to really look, the room Diana and Silk lived in wasn't that bad. Like I've said, it had two beds, a pair of nightstands, and two large wardrobes for their clothes. I'd imagine that Silk would have more in hers than Diana. At the foot of each bed, there was a small chest that seemed to have things in them. Various pictures and the like hung on the walls, more so on Diana's side. The floor lamp sat at the end of the room, between both beds. It was on, casting a warm light through the room.

I waited. A minute passed. Then two. Then five. I was quickly becoming impatient.

My eyes eventually rested on the chest at the foot of Diana's bed. I suddenly had a desire to snoop around and find whatever was in it.

'But that's wrong.' I told myself. 'I'm not a snooper.'

'Just do it. You don't have anything better to do.' another voice in my mind argued. 'And plus, they wouldn't just leave them there with no protection if they didn't trust you. They wouldn't keep embarrassing things in there if you came in here.'

I bickered back and forth with myself, but eventually my curiosity got the better of me. Quietly, I moved to the end of Diana's bed and carefully opened her chest, as to not let it squeak.

Inside were a bunch of arrows, a few spare bows, a quiver, and an assortment of other knick knacks I would assume Diana had collected over time.

One thing in particular stood out to me. At the very bottom of the chest, there was a small little box. When I opened it, it was revealed to be filled with a stack of iron, half a stack of gold, and ten polished diamonds. My eyes widened at her small treasure trove, but I didn't dare take any. If Diana was anything like me, she kept tabs on that stuff just to make sure no one took anything off of her.

I carefully put everything back in the chest exactly as I found it and closed the lid, sighing. 'Well… that's Diana's stuff. Not anything super bad in there, just that resource box.'

My eyes gently drifted over to Silk's chest. I wanted to search that one SO bad… but Silk would go off the deep end if she knew. Diana at least I knew I could maybe reason a little more with. Silk… she's unpredictable.

Curiosity still got the better of me in the end. I quietly looked out the door, looking down the hallway both ways. No one in sight.

I closed the door and, just to be sure, I propped a nearby chair under the handle to help keep it closed.

I went over to Silk's chest. I noticed that it seemed to be slightly better in condition. I pulled open the lid without remembering to do it slow, but it didn't even squeak. 'Either she doesn't use this thing a lot, or she takes really good care of it.' I thought.

There wasn't nearly as much stuff in her chest as Diana's had. Some assorted books, a few spare pieces of string, a small jar of sugar… I was nearly done looking when I took another look at the book stack inside.

The one on the top caught my eye. It had a pinkish-purple ribbon marking one page, and there was a pen right on top of that. There was no title on it, unlike the other books in the stack.. I slowly started to think: 'Is… that her diary?'

I was a little surprised. Silk didn't seem like the diary type. 'Maybe she wrote it a long time ago?' I asked myself. I slowly grabbed it and the pen, and took it out of the chest.

Glancing back out the door once more, and seeing no one coming either way, I reclosed the door and sat down on Diana's bed.

I flipped open the book. The first page was blank save for Silk's name, printed neatly on the center.

Growing more curious, I flipped the page.

The top of the page read, ' _January 20th.'_

Slowly, I started to read.

' _It's been almost a year now since I ran away. I don't regret it in the slightest. Those people over there hated me. I did all of us a service by running away.'_

' _I don't want to admit it, but I miss home. I had a friend there… someone I really miss. She'll always have a place in my heart, but it's too late to turn back now.'_

' _For now, I'll rest here. The cave I'm in is dark, damp, and cold. It'll work until the snow storm passes. Then, I'm off.'_

The next page jumped ahead a month. ' _February 22nd.'_

' _I… I'm not sure where to start.'_

' _I… I found people.'_

' _A faction of people. They call themselves 'The S &S Corps.''_

' _It's a group of skeletons and spiders that work together. They want to have ALL spiders and skeletons work together.'_

' _And… the best part?'_

' _There's one skeleton here. Diana, I think her name is.'_

' _She's… she so nice to me. She… she understands what I've been through. She knows firsthand what I've had to deal with.'_

' _I… I think I cried through most of today. I'm not sure. I'm… I'm just so happy…'_

I kept flipping through the pages. Each one seemed to focus on a specific point in time, and almost exclusively a powerful emotion Silk had felt.

It seemed to me after a moment that those were entries from last year. I eventually got to another page that was labeled, ' _January 4th.'_

' _It's been almost a year since I became a part of the S &S. I… I feel so at home here. I can hardly believe it's been so long.'_

' _Recently, we've gotten word of a crown that once belonged to a very influential skeleton king in spider/skeleton coexistence. Diana and I have begun to start digging for any more information regarding that.'_

' _I'm honestly a little doubtful, but Diana seems very enthusiastic. She's heard many stories about those times, and the growth and prosperity they produced. I don't really share that point of view, but I'll play along for now.'_

' _The only lead we have at the moment is that the crown was lost years ago, when someone, we aren't sure who, killed the skeleton king and took the crown. They were never seen afterwards, at least not by our records. The only thing we have to go on is that the culprit was wearing human clothes, but that could literally mean anything.'_

' _We have a lot of work ahead of us.'_

I was about to read further, when suddenly, someone cleared their throat front the doorway.

My blood froze. I slowly turned to see… Silk. Standing in the doorway. In a start, I realized when I checked out into the hallway the second time, I forgot to replace the chair in the door.

Her face was neutral. She was looking from the open chest at the foot of her bed, to the book in my hands. My face was rapidly paling. If I didn't start talking, I was in serious trouble.

"S-S-Silk, um, this i-isn't what you think…!" I started gently, closing her diary. "I, uh, was just curious about this, and…! And…!"

Silk's face forced me to shut up. It wasn't angry. It wasn't surprised.

It was just neutral. Frankly, that was more terrifying than her being mad.

Slowly, she came over to me and grabbed the diary. I didn't even try to resist. She took the book, closed her chest and placed it on top, still not saying anything.

Then she speaks up.

"How far?"

I was slightly confused, and honestly a little scared. "H-huh?"

"How far did you make it in?" she asked again.

I slowly started thinking up many lies to tell, each one worse than the last. I knew lying to wouldn't get me anywhere.

"A-about… January of this year… I think it was." I answered, shaking badly.

Silk seemed to relax. "*sigh* Good… you didn't read the next entry."

I sat there, waiting for her to start yelling at me. Surely she was going to any second now, right?

Slowly, she walked around and stood right in front of me. There was a million things running through my head, most of them not good.

She raises her hand, as though to slap me. I close my eyes and brace myself…

And then she clamps down on my shoulders.

It took me a moment, but I eventually opened my eyes. Silk's expression… it was much softer. And… her eyes seemed… forgiving.

"I… I should be really, REALLY angry at you." Silk told me, with a surprising amount of softness in her voice. "And… in some ways, I am. But… I… I feel… I feel oddly glad. In honesty… I was going to tell you those things once you woke up. But… now, you already know."

Silk… was she about to cry? Her eyes looked rather shiny.

"It… it was a hard life for me at first." Silk explained, sitting down next to me, her head bowed. "I… I never truly 'fit in' with anyone. All those people didn't really like me because of what I looked like. I only had one person, and… she didn't like living there either. So she ran away. I think that's what made me run too."

Silk seemed to be tearing up. "It… it was hard. I… I left everything behind. I was glad for it, and I don't regret the choice, but… those days after the fact were some of the toughest of my life."

"And… and then I found this place." Silk continued, looking up at me, almost… starry-eyed. "These people, these… these friends, they welcomed me. Sure, I looked different, but… they knew what I was at heart. They accepted me for it. And to this day, they still do, even if it's a little… shaky, to put it gently."

Silk… she was really going on about this. She… she had her whole life changed thanks to this group. I… I could hardly imagine what that must've felt like.

Then I remembered. I did. I met Susie nearly a year ago. Look at me then versus me now. Before, I was on the run, constantly worried about a random Creeper finding me. Now… I had a home. A family. A part of me was back.

In that moment, I slowly started remembering all the good times I've shared with my friends. All the happy times. All the stressful times. All the goofy times. All of them.

And I don't regret any of them. Sure, it may have came out of a bad beginning…

But there's always going to be a happy ending somewhere down the road, right?

So… I started tearing up. I… I couldn't help it. Her story had sparked a light inside of me. It reminded me of everything.

Silk tried to keep it together, but couldn't. Slowly, I saw tears start to slowly trailing down her cheeks. She slowly started mumbling to herself, things about… I don't even know what.

Of course, in that moment, I couldn't just sit there and let the poor girl cry her eyes out. So, I carefully wrapped my arms around her.

Silk squirmed for a moment, but eventually she accepted it. I could hear her heart beating softly against my chest. She slowly lost all control, and started to gently sob into my shoulder.

I held her tenderly in my arms. I had tears forming, but none fell. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But… at least I was comforting Silk. That was something I knew was good.

Eventually, she stopped crying, simply sniffling every now and then. But… she didn't try to pull away. She only sat there, letting me hug her.

As much as I hated to do it, I had to be the one to pull away. Slowly, I did so, and Silk… she tried to hide it, but she looked very upset. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and asked, "Feel any better?" I asked.

Silk nodded. "Good." I praised. "You look much better without the tears in your eyes."

I… I couldn't help but notice something. Silk's cheeks… did they become a very fine shade redder? Was it just my imagination? I couldn't tell.

"*sniff* Guh… thank you… Cameron…" Silk slowly thanked, her eyes still a puffy red. "I… I didn't want to cry… but… it just came out."

In response, I gently rubbed her shoulder, saying, "I know. But it's good that you cried. It isn't healthy to keep all that in."

Silk seemed to like my touch. Her eyes were closed, and she pulled something out of her pocket. It was a simple wad of string, nothing too special.

I slowly stopped rubbing her shoulder. She slowly looked down at her hands and started messing around with the string, letting it wrap around her fingers. I watched her very curiously as she slowly started weaving the string around.

In a moment, the string had slowly formed into what might eventually become a bracelet. "Wow, that's pretty neat." I commented.

Silk looked back up at me, as if she had forgotten that I was there. "Oh… right. Yeah, I, umm… I sometimes make things out of this. Small things, really. Like this."

She held up the incomplete bracelet. "I just… it's just a hobby of mine."

"I think it's pretty neat." I praised.

Silk blushed. "Th-thank you…" she mumbled, looking away. Then, she must've remembered that she was here to get me. "O-oh! Right! I-I have to take you back… Snowy's becoming very anxious without you."

I quickly stood up and popped my back. "Well, let's get going then."

Slowly, we filed out the bedroom. If I had been paying closer attention to Silk, I would've noticed that she had taken her diary with her.

I also would've noticed that she seemed to be paying a little bit of a close eye on me. Staring closely at me.

But I never noticed any of that. All I was thinking about was…

'I finally got through with Silk.'

This was the start of something big. I could already tell.

Almost like…

Like a new dawn.

All that remained was to see where it takes me.

* * *

 **And there we go!**

 **So, quick heads up, I… I might have a SLIGHT problem.**

 **I'm not gonna get too far into it, but let's just say… something changed, and now I've gotta readapt.**

 **Don't worry, it's not something big or anything, it's just… something that really annoys me.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It took me a little bit to get it to work like I wanted, but I hope that you all enjoyed it.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, PM me with your In-game username, what server, and when. And don't forget about my personal survival server!**

 **Until next time guys, stay awesome. Bye! =D**


	38. Heist Day with a Twist

**What is up you awesome readers out there! It's ButterHunter here, back with another chapter! Actually didn't take a month here, did I?**

 **Let's get going! Oh and yay, more lines! =D**

* * *

Chapter 38: Heist Day with a Twist

 _A few days later…_

Two days had passed. Diana and Silk were both confident that we were going to get that crown very soon. It was just a matter of getting the go-ahead.

And then, it was the day.

"Cameron. Get up. It's time to go." Silk's voice came, a pair of hands shaking me.

I slowly roused myself from my stupor. Snowy was already up and looking ready, as was Diana.

"Ugh…" I complained, nevertheless sitting up and grabbing my bag. "We need to stop getting up so damn early…"

"The city where the crown is at is quite a ways from here." Diana told me. "Besides, skeletons burn in the sun, so we need to get there with the skeleton team and head back before sunrise."

"And not to mention spiders don't like fighting things during the day." Silk added. "They only attack if they are attacked or were attacked at some point during the day."

Slowly, I stood up and stretched. "Okay… I'm up. Kinda. Now what?"

Silk sighed. "You know what we have to do." she stated defeatedly, holding out a blindfold again.

"Seriously?" I asked defeatedly.

"Confidentiality reasons." Silk agreed, rolling her eyes. "If I had my way, we wouldn't have to do this. And to be fair, I don't see you trying to break free anytime soon. I trust you. Sadly, not many others do."

I reluctantly put on the blindfold, as did Snowy, and we all headed out of the facility.

Even before I took off the thing, I could it was very late at night. Once the blindfold came off, I looked up and realized that the moon was still low in the sky, still rising.

"What the-? What was the point of sleeping if we were just gonna get going so early?" I asked.

"Well, you see…" Diana started, before remaining quiet. "Uhhh…"

"You got nothing for that, huh?" I asked.

"..."

"That's what I thought." I responded.

Soon enough, we reached what I understood was the rendezvous point. A small team of about three spiders and two skeletons were gathered here, with the skeletons wearing iron helmets. They all looked right at me when the four of us approached.

"Peace, friends." Diana told them. "He's the one we needed."

The spiders immediately seemed to shrug it off, but the skeletons both turned and looked, I'm guessing nervously, at Snowy.

"She's not gonna hurt you either." Silk explained exasperatedly.

I doubt it did anything to help, but they nevertheless accepted it and moved on. One chattered in its strange language, something that only Diana and Silk seemed to understand.

"We know." Diana told them. "Lead the way. We're right behind you."

Slowly, we started swiftly making our way due south. We crossed through a few forests and over a few small rivers (where Snowy almost drenched us when she got out of one and started shaking water off like the dog she obscenely is).

I was most nervous about meeting other monsters out here. The last thing I wanted was to run into a Creeper out here. Thankfully, when I voiced these concerns, Silk seemed to grin at me. "I'd like to see them try. Even if they wanted to, since you're with us, you're basically all but untouchable."

It was a long time before we finally made it to the city. I was the first one to see the large stone brick walls of the place, a few hundred blocks away. The closer we got, the larger the place became, and I started noticing a few guards on the far walls.

Strangely, though, the closer we got, the more I got a strange feeling in my gut. I… I felt like I knew this place somehow. I don't know how, I just… I just did.

We were almost there when, suddenly, it finally clicked. "Wait, wait, wait a minute… that's Blockington. The crown is here?"

Diana and Silk looked at me a little surprised. "You know what city this is?" Diana asked.

"Yeah, I've visited here a few times over the course of a few months." I told them. "I got… some friends here."

Silk seemed thoughtful. "Hmm… that could be a small bit of a problem…"

"You think so?" Diana asked nervously.

"Maybe." Silk responded, thinking. "Right now, though, I say we stick to the plan."

"So… I guess I should get in and get in position?" I asked.

"Yeah. From the photo, we know that the crown is in the North Tower, so try and get the guard job there. Once you do, I added something to the guard bag for you. Throw it over discreetly, and we'll do our thing."

"Okay…" I slowly agreed, running the plan in my head one more time.

"You ready?" Diana asked.

"No." I admitted.

"Neither are we. Go!" Silk agreed.

I quickly patted Snowy on the head one more time, before quickly running off towards the entrance. 'Okay, okay, okay. North Tower, North Tower…'

I quickly reached the entrance. The guards stopped me at the gate, but quickly let me in once they knew who I was. Once inside, I quickly looked around. Not many people were out right now, which was to be expected, it was late at night.

I made my way to the town hall, and quickly found out that there was an armory on the wall of the city, where people could, like Diana told me, sign up to be temporary guards. In fact, they need people to work now, since it was the graveyard shift.

As fast as I could go without looking suspicious, I made my way to the armory. Once there, I spoke to who I assumed was the captain of the guard.

"Um, hello?" I started. "I understand that you're looking for people to do guard duty?"

"Yes, I am." the captain agreed gruffly. "You want to volunteer?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Do you have equipment?" he asked.

"Matter of fact, I do." I stated, showing him the bag Silk gave me with all that guard stuff.

The captain nodded. "Very well. Throw that armor on, and then talk to me."

I quickly ducked into a room and threw on the heavy iron armor and leather helm. Once it was all on and I was reasonably comfortable, I headed out and returned to the captain.

"We need a guard to work any of the towers." he explained to me. "Is there one in particular that you wish to work at?"

"Yes, sir, the North Tower." I told him.

"Very well." the captain nodded. "Head out of here, make a right, and climb the first stairway on your right that you see. If you spot any trouble, ring the bell nearby. I'll make my way over and we'll see to the threat."

I nodded, and started to make my way out. "Oh, and one more thing." he called out.

The captain tossed me a large, thin rectangular chunk of wood surrounded by iron, with a symbol that I knew of as the symbol of Blockington on it. "New protocols require that all guards carry a shield in their off-hand. Great for blocking arrows and blocking some damage from sword blows."

"Thanks." I thanked, pulling the shield up with my left hand. I soon made my way up the tall tower, and before I knew it, I was in position.

The view up from the top was incredible. I saw only one guard on my right, along the far wall, but they weren't paying much attention to me. Hell, they didn't seem that interested in watching out for attackers.

I leaned the shield along the wall and reached into the bag. Soon enough I found the signal: a regular arrow, with a paper attached to it.

'Welp… I did my part. Let's hope that they can do theirs.' I prayed in my mind. I wrote down a quick message on the paper and quickly released the arrow, watching it fall to the ground.

 _Snowy POV…_

"Is it time yet?" I asked.

"Not yet. Almost…" Diana responded, for the fifth time.

It was very nerve wracking waiting for Master to finish. We had hoped that he would've already given the signal by now, but that wasn't the case.

"What's taking him so long…" Silk mumbled.

"He's gotta be in position any second now." Diana mumbled, carefully watching the edge of the North Tower.

Suddenly, something flew over the side of it, and landing directly in the grass in front of our stakeout point. Gleefully, Silk ran out, grabbed it, and dashed back over to cover.

"An… arrow?" I asked, before I noticed the small piece of paper on it as well.

Diana took the paper and unfurled it. "Okay, he wrote on it… says, 'Guard to my right, probably your left, other than that nothing too big. In position.'"

"That's all the info we need. Let's go." Silk breathed, preparing herself. She and Diana start mumbling to each other, while the other skeletons and spiders started forming groups.

The skeletons quickly claimed a spider each, leaving the last one crawling towards me. I wasn't sure what I was doing at first, until I saw the spider turn around and start to wait patiently.

The other skeletons started riding the spiders, so I assumed I was going to have to do the same. Carefully, as to not hurt the poor thing, I sat down gently on the spider, grabbing on where the skeletons were. It made me a little sick to think about the spider, and how strange it smelled, and the tiny hairs I felt with my hands, and-

"Okay, everyone ready?" Silk asked from behind me. I couldn't turn around to look over, so I had to trust she was ready.

"Yes… please tell me I won't fall…" I moaned, a little scared.

"Oh, not at all. Just keep a good grip on your spider, and whatever you do, DON'T pinch him. He won't like that." Diana told me. I closed my eyes, and slowly nodded.

The spider started moving, right behind the other two skeleton jockeys that started going. We approached the wall, and our spiders started climbing up.

It was, well, nerve-wracking to think that the only thing keeping me from falling was handing on to a spider, but I tried not to let that thought hold onto me. I kept a firm, but not very tight, hold on the spider as we climbed higher, higher, higher…

It seemed like a whole day before we finally reached the window. Carefully, I watched the two skeletons work at opening the window without breaking it, which took another long time. Honestly, I think I was starting to shake at how long we were here, and I could tell my hands were slowly getting tighter on my spider. And sweatier.

Thankfully, they opened the window just before I could fully go panic mode, and we were soon in.

The room was spacious, and really well decorated. Although it was rather dark, I could clearly make out large glass cases all over the place, holding things that blended into the darkness. But the main attraction was right in front of us, with a smaller glass case on a pedestal, holding our prize: the skeleton crown.

I quickly got off, something that both me and my spider were both thankful for. I was REALLY not looking forward to climbing down, especially if we were going to be having to run for it.

The skeletons and spiders soon followed in after. Diana climbed in through the window, followed quickly by Silk, who was rubbing her shoulders.

"How'd you two fare?" I asked, still a little shaky from the climb.

"Nothing we've never done before." Silk replied. "Now, let's get our prize."

 _Meanwhile, before with Cameron…_

 _Cameron POV…_

I was carefully watching over the edge as well as looking like I was looking for trouble. I knew that if I was caught of all people, then this whole thing was done for.

I watched as both of the skeletons, riding on a spider each, quickly started climbing the wall. They were both followed by a rather concerned looking Snowy, who didn't seem like she was having a very fun time clinging to the back of a spider.

'Poor Snowy… just don't look down, and you'll be fine.' I silently urged her. I glanced back behind me for a moment to back sure no one was coming up the stairs to check on me.

I looked back down, and the first thing I noticed…

"Oh… oh my Notch…" I almost started snickering.

Silk and Diana were close behind the rest, but… Diana was sitting on Silk's shoulders, and it look REALLY goofy. Just… I wish I could convey how ridiculous seeing a humanoid spider jockey was. I nearly started cracking up at the sight.

I heard a noise right behind me, someone was climbing the stairs. I turned my attention back to the stairs, and not a moment too soon. The captain of the guard suddenly came up, and saw me standing there. "Anything to report?" he asked.

"No sir." I lied. "Been perfectly quiet up here."

"Good." the captain said, before slowly coming towards me. He started talking in a sort of husky whisper, "You know, I wouldn't have put you here if I didn't think you could handle it, but you seem like the sort of person that can get a job done, no matter the cost."

"What does that mean?" I asked in the same whisper.

"You don't know?" the captain asked, surprised. "We recently dug up some old crown in the ground, and the thing was so unique that we stored it in this very tower. If any other person had come up to me, I wouldn't have given them the job. But you… I know about you. You're a very common traveler around here, and your name has flown around a few times."

"Really?" I asked, starting to grow nervous. If people knew who I was, and word got out that I was working guard duty the night something was stolen…

"But I think that you're the person who gets things done." the captain continued, straightening up. "So just keep an eye out, and if you see anything out of the ordinary, ring the bell. Got it?"

"Yes sir." I agreed, standing at attention. "Um… if I can ask though, was there anything special about that crown you were talking about?"

"Not that I know of. It was attached to some skeleton when we found it, and the moment we took it off the skeleton dissipated into dust. Higher ups think it's worth putting on higher security, but I disagree. It's just a dusty crown."

'That's what you think…' I mumbled in my mind.

The captain soon left. I was left to think about what might be going on down there with Snowy and the others.

'Well… maybe I should focus on how I'm going to escape.' I thought.

I looked back over the edge. I noticed about maybe fifty blocks away, there was a small pond past a tree or two. That was the only water close by, the rest were farther off.

'This isn't good… if I need to leave in a hurry, I'll have to run through the city, and Notch knows that won't work well…' I thought sadly.

" _Hey, you aren't panicking yet, are you?"_ a familiar voice chirped up in my head.

'Aira?' I called out.

" _The one and only."_ she responded smugly. " _Now, back to the topic. Have you already forgotten that you have more than just water powers in you?"_

'But I thought you said that you wouldn't be able to let me fly.' I reminded her, confused. 'I thought you said that it was physically impossible at the moment.'

" _I did. But I never said that you couldn't at least slow down your fall, did I?"_ Aira told me.

And she carefully started explaining her plan.

 _Earlier, with Snowy and the others…_

 _Snowy POV…_

Diana, Silk, and I approached the crown. It was held in a small glass case, tightly locked with four locks, one on each side.

The crown itself was actually very ordinate now that I could see it clearly. It was, of course, made out of bones, but a lot of the finer detailing was made out of gold, maybe some diamond chips here and there, and I could very clearly make out a sold emerald center piece in the middle of it.

"*sigh*... I was worried about that." Silk murmured.

"About the locks?" I asked.

"Yep." Silk agreed. "Unless we want to start wandering around the entire area looking for small keys to fit into each lock, I say we need to find another way."

"We could always break the glass." Diana offered, not looking like she liked that option. "It'll get us the crown, and we'll be out of here faster than anything else, but…"

"That'll raise more attention than an explosion." Silk murmured. "Not to mention that it's a horribly rough plan 'round the edges."

"Didn't you guys think about this before we came here?" I asked gently.

"We did, but…" Diana admitted. "I'll admit that sometimes we aren't the most organized of people."

Suddenly, I heard footsteps. I began to sweat. "Guys! I hear footsteps coming from down the hall!"

That sent Diana and Silk into a slight panic. They quickly looked around the place, before jumping underneath one of the large displays also present in the room, with me right behind them. The skeletons dove under opposite us, and the spiders climbed up to the ceiling, remaining motionless.

Soon enough, a guard entered the room, and apparently hit something on the wall, because suddenly the room became flooded with light.

"Okay, crown still in place, check…" the guard murmured, the sound of writing on paper following that. "All glass cases locked, check. Hate my job, super check… and finally, key to open cases on person, check."

The guard sighed, and headed for the door. "I swear, they make me do the worst jobs 'round here. When am I gonna see some real action?"

He paused at the door, seemingly entering deep thought.

That was all the motivation Silk needed. In a few seconds, while he stalled at the door, she ran out silently, quickly tapped his shoulder, and dashed under another case.

The guard turned around, looking for who poked him. "Who's there?" he yelled out.

"He's got the key we need…" Diana whispered to me quietly. "We need that key!"

Silk quickly tapped the guard on the shoulder again, this time climbing up the wall to the ceiling just before he could see her.

"If someone's there, show yourself!" he yelled angrily, the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn ringing into the still air. He reentered the room, pausing just in front of us.

"Leave this to me." Diana mumbled, waiting. In a moment the guard turned around again, and Diana quickly got out from under the case and tapped his shoulder.

"Looking for someone?" she asked. I heard the guard turn around quickly, before a loud sound of something slamming into something else rang out. In moments, the guard fell over to the ground, knocked out by the looks of it.

"All clear." Diana said, sounding slightly… winded? I crawled out of my hidey-hole and stood up. Diana was right next to the case, rubbing her forehead.

I blinked at her. "Did… did you just head-butt him to knock him out?" I asked.

"I was always told I had a bit of a hard head. It worked, didn't it?" Diana argued in her defense. "And once we replace the crowns and lock the case, I'll bet he'll just think he fell asleep on the job."

Silk and the other spiders climbed back down, and the skeletons regrouped back at the door for watch duty. "Okay, now, where's that key…" Silk mumbled, rummaging through some of his pockets.

It took a moment, but soon enough she found the key, in a small pocket hidden on his shirt by his armor. "Got it. Now, who's got the fake?"

A skeleton over by the door creaked up in reply, reaching behind him and pulling out the fake crown from nowhere. "Where was that fake crown before…?" I asked slowly.

The skeleton creaked. Diana translated it as, "Trust him: you're better off just keeping it a mystery."

I shrugged. Diana took the fake crown, almost every bit similar to the crown, right down to the gold, save for the fact that the 'emerald' they used was instead a diamond they dyed green, and waited as Silk quickly tried to unlock the locks.

She seemed to be struggling on most of them. "Some of these- *pant* stupid locks *pant* are stuck or *pant* something." she managed to get out, struggling with the key on the last lock.

"Careful…" Diana murmured gently. "Don't break the key."

Thankfully, Silk managed to unlock the last lock after another second. Carefully, following Diana's word, I carefully lifted the heavy glass covering the crown. Silk took the now unprotected crown, holding it as if it was a piece of TNT that would go off at any second.

"Okay… now, just place the fake down, and-" Silk started to instruct.

Suddenly, I heard more footsteps coming from down the hall. "Oh no… more footsteps!" I breathed.

The skeletons at the door held the door closed. Diana and Silk threw the crowns on the table next to them. It was dead quiet for the count of ten. The footsteps grew louder.

"Oh Notch, oh Notch, oh Notch…" I heard myself saying, before a hand came around and planted it over my mouth.

"Shhh…" Diana's voice hushed, her own breath near silent.

The footsteps were right on top of the door. They stopped for maybe a second. My heart stopped…

And then the footsteps sounded like they were heading the other way.

Once they were far enough, I found myself able to breath again. "That… that was way too close…" I got out.

"I know." Silk breathed, also seemingly frightened. She and Diana picked up a crown each. "Now, let's get that crown in there before anything else can happen."

I turned to Diana and Silk. "Right. So… which one is the fake again?"

"This one." Diana and Silk said at the same time. "No, wait, that one." they corrected.

I literally felt the color drain from my face. "You… you forgot which was which?!"

Silk and Diana seemed to pale as well. "D-don't panic! I-I'm sure we can sort this out!"

They looked at the crown in each of their hands. The piece they focused on was the center piece. One was the real thing, an emerald, and the other was just a painted diamond. Surely it wouldn't be THAT hard to tell the fake apart, right?

"Umm…" Diana slowly stated. "I think this one's the real one."

"You think so?" Silk asked.

"Yeah… this one's center piece is duller than the other one, it looks like." Diana agreed, this time a lot more sure. "I'm almost positive. The diamond, even if was green, would still be a bit more clear."

The skeletons and spider threw nervous glances at each other once the fake crown was put on the pedestal, but they didn't offer anything.

"Okay, put the glass on, lock the glass, and put the key back on that guy. We need to get out of here!" Diana told me. I nodded, and carefully put the glass back over the crown, glad that I was finally rid of that heavy thing.

Silk quickly locked everything back up, and carefully put the key back in the pocket she found it in. "Alright, now, everyone out! Let's go, go, go!"

Diana quickly, yet carefully, stuffed the crown into her bag, and stood to the side as the skeletons and spiders quickly mounted. I quickly got on my spider, holding my breath for one more ride.

The ride back down was quicker, which was nice, because I was looking down the whole time. I swear, the ground looked a LOT closer at the top than it did halfway down.

Thankfully, we got off quickly, and dashed into the safety of the trees.

We… we did it.

"I… I can't believe it." I murmured, finally letting out a sigh of relief I didn't even know I was holding. "We… we did it!"

Diana and Silk seemed to be fully realizing it too. "Yeah… yeah, we did! We got the crown!"

We almost started whooping, until we remember that Master was still up at the top of the tower.

I looked out through the trees. "How are we supposed to let Master know it's safe for him to go?"

Suddenly, a loud bell rung out. Voices started shouting, and even way out here loud footsteps could be heard ringing everywhere.

"Uh-oh… I think they might've found our friend we left knocked out in the tower…" Diana realized.

"We need to get Cameron out of there. NOW." Silk murmured.

 _Cameron POV…_

So, yeah, once I heard the bell ringing, I knew the jig was up.

"Code Z time…!" I muttered. Code Z was a term I read in a book once. It was sort of a plan, I guess. The END of one, anyway. It didn't matter whether the plan was finished, or busted, or maybe both. All that mattered was to get the heck out of there.

Fortunately, I had a plan. Kinda.

I threw the guard's armor into my bag, along with the shield, and quickly stood at the edge of the tower.

"Now or never…" I murmured, and I jumped.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking. "Cameron, that was a very stupid move to just jump of a building!"

And your right. It was.

But like I said: I had a plan.

I concentrated as hard as I could as soon as I jumped. The winds bent to my will, and my freefall to the ground became a much more controlled descent down and forward. I wasn't able to keep a level of concentration to fly, but this would be more than enough.

In moments, I finally landed in the small water lake I had spotted before. The water slowly helped rejuvenate me, and helped calm me down again.

I climbed out of the small lake and quickly made it over to where everyone was waiting. The city still had alarms blaring everywhere, but no one seemed to have seen any of us as we made our escapes. Snowy and the others seemed to be looking up at the tower, I guess waiting for me?

"Hey everyone." I greeted. Everyone present jumped half a foot in the air. "Miss me?"

"Cameron? W-where did you come from?" Diana asked. "How'd you get behind us without us seeing you?"

"And why are you soaked?" Silk asked.

"Well, when the alarms started, I knew better than to just stay put. So, I did what any sane person would do: jump safely into a small lake of water." I explained, which was true.

Diana and Silk blinked at me, looking very surprised. "I… do I even want to dig further…?" Silk asked herself.

"Maybe not right now. Maybe now would be a good time to focus on getting the hell out of here." I asked.

They seemed to agree. As fast as we could, we all started heading for the facility, Silk and Diana leading.

 _Some time later…_

It felt like forever that we walked on the way back. I was on constant alert, half afraid that something would pop out of the trees around us. Fortunately for us, no one came to intercept us.

By the time we arrived at the facility the sun was starting to peek out over the horizon. I wasn't worried about Diana or Silk, but they seemed plenty worried about the skeletons we still had with us.

I, reluctantly, pulled out my blindfold on Silk's request and pulled it on, Snowy following suit. Just as the sun fully rose over the horizon, we entered back into the underground facility, everyone safe.

It was over.

I could hear Diana whispering to the skeletons and spider for a moment while we walked further into the building. I couldn't make must out of it, but I did make out something along the lines of, "show them the prize…"

Soon after she stopped talking I could plainly hear the skeletons and spiders scooting away deeper into the facility. So it was just us four again.

Eventually Diana and Silk pulled us into a room and let us take the blindfolds off. When I did so, I hadn't ever seen a happier face on either of the two.

"We… we did it." Diana breathed, taking out the crown for herself.

"We really did, huh?" Silk asked, stars in her eyes.

Diana carefully placed the crown down on a small table next to us. I… I honestly did feel accomplished.

"Sooo… now that we've held up our end of the bargain…" I started to ask, looking hopeful. "That means we can go home now, right?"

"Almost. Just one more thing." Diana agreed. "We just need to give our leader the crown, appointing him king. We just sent those skeletons and spiders to spread the word of our success to said leader, the one who will accept the crown."

I sighed. Finally, we were going to leave. _Finally._

For a moment, no one spoke. Slowly, my happiness at finally leaving sort of… drained out of me. I… I became almost a little sad.

As best as they try to hide it, I could see that Diana and Silk… they seemed a little sad as well. We… we have to leave. Meaning we probably won't see each other again.

Meaning the next time we did meet… it might be as enemies.

After all, this was only a temporary thing.

This was only for ONE job, and that was done. Once we reached home, and they left us… it's done. We don't have to see each other again.

I mean… I guess I kinda considered Diana and Silk friendly enough. Maybe I did think of them as friends. But… would we ever see each other again?

Diana and Silk broke the tension first. "Well… I guess we should go get ready." Diana offered.

"Yeah… we'll be back shortly, okay?" Silk agreed. "Don't go anywhere just yet."

With that, they left. Leaving just me and Snowy to ourselves.

I sighed, and slowly sat down at one of the tables. Snowy sat next to me, looking a little conflicted herself.

"Well… I guess we're finally getting what we wanted." I offered.

"Yeah… we're finally going home." Snowy agreed, trying to sound positive.

I sighed. "You're gonna miss those two too, aren't you?" I asked.

Snowy didn't even try to hide it. "Yeah, I will… I mean, I know that they kidnapped us and everything, but… I can't lie, they've made this whole experience a lot easier on us."

"Yeah… dear Notch, Susie's probably been having a cow over us while we've been gone." I murmured.

"Didn't you write to them?" Snowy asked.

"I did, but still, that was a while ago. I'm not sure how well they took it." I explained.

We sat in silence for a good long time. Finally, Diana and Silk returned, each carrying a small bag each over their shoulders. "Alright, it's time. We give the crown to our leader, they give us the go ahead, and we're taking you out of here." Silk explained.

"Alright… let's get going then, huh?" I asked, grabbing the crown Diana left on the table. I really hoped that this was all we needed, and they hadn't forgotten anything else we needed to steal.

They allowed me to hold it while we walked, so I was able to get a really good look at the thing. For such an apparently powerful object, it just looked like a bone crown. Nothing truly that special.

We kept walking further, and further into the facility. I swear we were walking for miles, always turning around corners, descending or climbing stairs, or sometimes double backing from a dead end.

Finally, I saw where we were heading. A large, fancy set of oak doors stood at the end of the last hall. I was becoming very nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect upon entering.

We all paused in front of the door. Even Silk seemed nervous about entering.

"Okay… you two, just… stay calm, don't do anything stupid, and just listen to us. You understand?" Silk asked.

Snowy and I nodded. Diana took a deep breath, and then slowly opened the door. It opened very slowly, creaking all the way.

Sitting across the room, right in front of the door, was an older looking skeleton. Its bones seemed a little brittle at some joints, and it was definitely missing at least three teeth. Despite that, he seemed in fairly good shape. I could clearly see a large, custom made bow propped up next to him. And unless my eyes were deceiving me, I swear it had the same purple aura that my new bow had around it.

We slowly approached, me and Snowy on either end, Diana and Silk between us. Once we were near the throne, we stopped in place.

Diana bowed her head respectfully. "Old Bones, sir. We have the crown."

That name… 'Old Bones'... where have I heard that before?

"Ah… Diana. Silk. Such youth like yourselves have finally brought us what I wish." the skeleton creaked slowly. That voice… I SWEAR I had heard that voice before.

"Yes sir. We finally found it." Silk agreed, nodding proudly. "It's right here."

Silk gestured to me, and I held the crown up so the skeleton could see it clearly. "Ahhh… finally. The time is now."

I wasn't paying much attention to the skeleton, however. I was trying my hardest to remember why the name Old Bones rang a bell in my head. It didn't make sense…

A nudge from Silk forced me to return. "S-sorry, what?" I asked.

The old skeleton on the throne looked down at me. "I asked you what you were so thoughtful about. Is there something I should know?"

"M-my apologizes." I apologized. "Just… when Diana said your name, I… I couldn't help but think that… I've heard it somewhere before…"

And then suddenly, it clicked.

"Wait a minute… wait a minute…" I mumbled, slowly feeling the reason surface. "Weren't you the skeleton that came to Susie's place last year? The one that needed something to help an elder?"

If the skeleton had eyes, I'm sure they would've widened in surprise. "How do you know of this? That was almost a year ago."

"I… uh… may have been present when you came that day." I answered gently. I suddenly started wishing that I never opened my mouth.

Old Bones gave me a hard stare. "Hmmm…" they hummed. "I would recognize your face on sight, but I've never seen it before… and yet, I do not believe that you are lying."

"I may have been… you know, hiding. To, ah… protect myself." I admitted, looking down at the ground. I was repeating over and over in my head, 'stop asking, please stop asking, please stop asking…'

It was a long time while Old Bones looked at me. Then, they slowly relaxed into their throne. "I suppose it is of no great importance. What is important is that you have the one thing I've sought for ever since I became the leader."

Old Bones leaned forward again. "Give it to me."

Diana started to take the crown from my hands. "No no. The human. I want the human to give it to me."

I cast a nervous glance to the other three. They looked back at me with the same look.

Nevertheless, I slowly walked forward up to Old Bones and presented the crown to them. It's bony fingers slowly took the crown from my hands.

"Thank you, human. Go back to your friends." Old Bones instructed.

I awkwardly stepped back to them, hoping that I didn't do something wrong that I was not aware of.

Old Bones slowly looked over the entire crown, sizing it up carefully. It may have been just me, but I swore that they started to smile. "Ahh… finally."

They focused on the emerald in the center. "Such a valuable piece of art… I'm so glad that you found this when you did. If you had not, the humans might have figured out how it worked, and Lord knows what would've happened then."

I almost agreed, until I became tripped up in Old Bones's wording. "Pardon me, sir, but… Lord? You mean Notch, right?" I asked.

Old Bones looked directly at me. "No, human. Not Notch."

My eyes became the size of dinner plates. I looked over to Silk and Diana and silently asked, 'Did you know of that?'

They shook their heads no, just as confused. EVERYONE worships Notch. It didn't matter if you were a silverfish running in the caves below the surface, you worshiped Notch as the god that he is.

"I must say, the old king had a very keen eye for design…" Old Bones spoke up, looking the crown over one more time. "It is truly a one-of-a-kind-"

They stopped. They saw something.

It was dead silence for nearly ten seconds. Diana finally got the courage to ask, "S-sir?"

"This… this is not the crown." Old Bones stated.

Silk's eyes widened. "P-pardon?"

"I said, this is not the crown." Old Bones repeated, tossing the crown back to me. "Look at the emerald."

I caught the crown and took a second look at the emerald. I suddenly saw it. I've only seen one or two emeralds in my day, but I knew that this wasn't it. It looked like it at a distance, but…

I carefully pried the emerald out and slowly scratched the side of it. Just as I thought, it slowly became more blue the more I scratched it.

"This… this is a diamond, not an emerald." I stated, slowly looking up at Diana and Silk, my face paling. "I thought you two said this was the crown."

"W-w-w-we did!" Diana stammered, paling herself. "W-w-we must've taken the wrong one!"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" Snowy slowly started panicking. "I-I knew something was wrong when we grabbed it…"

"Oh Notch…" Silk swore. "S-sir! I promise, just give us till tomorrow, and I promise that we-"

"ENOUGH." Old Bones interrupted. The voice was so loud that it caused all of us to stop talking and focus on the skeleton.

It was quiet for the longest time.

"I knew that you two would've found a way to mess it up." Old Bones berated. "I should've known. Despite everything you've done, you couldn't have messed up any worse than now."

Diana and Silk looked honestly crushed. It seemed like they just died a little on the inside, to have their leader say that to them.

"H-hey, it was probably an accident that could've happened to anyone." I intervened, stepping forward again. "If you just give them a day-"

"You are the last person that should be talking, human." Old Bones interrupted again. "You helped them. You could've realized that it was not the real crown. You should've realized it before."

I was quickly growing angry. "Well sorry, but if you wanted it done you should've done it yourself." I replied.

Diana and Silk looked at me as if I was insane. Old Bones's seemed to falter. He was looking right at me, with rage in its eye sockets.

"Guards! Take these four to the cells." Old Bones yelled.

Skeletons and spiders suddenly flooded in the door behind us. The skeletons all had bows up and ready to fire.

But so was I. Except my bow was in the opposite direction. "Make one move, and Old Bones gets it!" I yelled, my bow pulled back and ready to fire at Old Bones.

"Hold on! Hold on everyone!" Silk yelled to get everyone's attention. "Let's not do something we might regret here!"

"You are the last person that should be saying that, filthy half-human." Old Bones shot back. Silk froze. "Disgraceful mess. I knew the moment we saw you that we should've kicked you and her out."

Silk seemed frozen in place. I suddenly flashed back to her diary. She never said it outright, but… I'm guessing that she got called that more than once back where she used to live.

"It'll be good to get rid of both of you." Old Bones stated. "Finally, only pure of blood will be allowed to be in our facility."

Silk slowly started breaking down. I could see it in her eyes. I became really angry. Silk was not disgraceful. She was a hard-working woman.

"Guards! Take them away!" Old Bones yelled.

The mob behind us took a step forward. I rose my bow up higher. "I said take another step, and Bones gets it!"

They stopped. They seemed reluctant to keep moving. Perhaps it was the purple aura?

"Ugh… if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself…" Old Bones mumbled, reaching for something behind them.

Out of nowhere, Old Bones pulled out an arrow and pulled back their bow. I deftly dodged the arrow that came at me.

"Hah! Missed me!" I taunted.

And then I was tackled to the ground.

"I didn't need to." Old Bones taunted back, as two skeletons tied up my arms. Behind me, I heard similar noises of Diana, Silk, and Snowy all getting tied up and taken away.

"HEY! WE'VE DONE SO MUCH FOR YOU!" Diana yelled.

"You did. But now, you've overstayed your welcome. We'll decide what to do with you later…" Old Bones explained cruelly. "Now, get me more skeletons and spiders that can get the real crown this time.

I was being dragged away, and no amount of thrashing I could muster could shake me free.

One of the skeletons dragging me clattered at me, tossing me into an empty cell, devoid of anything but a dirty, unmade bed and filthy plate in the corner.

They slammed the cell door closed after making sure they took all my stuff as well. Then they shuttered off, leaving me alone.

I was quiet for the longest time. I was still in some form of shock.

Then, a noise to my left made me look over. A small grate in the wall was sliding to the side, and Diana's face stared at me.

"Cameron?" Diana asked.

"Diana? What the hell is going on?! I thought we were getting out of here!" I yelled at her.

"I thought so too! But… I guess we misplaced the crowns. I'm sorry." Diana apologized.

"Where's Snowy and Silk?" I asked.

"Silk's with me. She's… thinking." Diana murmured. "And Snowy's in the next cell over there. I think Old Bones is thinking about what to do with us, none of it pleasant."

"There's gotta be some way to get out of here…" I muttered.

"I've already tried. There's no way to break these doors. And they have rust all over them." Diana whispered.

Diana looked upset at herself. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I never thought we would get you into this mess…"

She slowly started to tear up. "I-I'm… I'm s-so sorry…"

"Hey, hey, hey… calm down…" I gently coaxed, reaching my hands through the small grate. I gently wiped off the tears that were starting to trace her face. "I'll… I'll think of something. Okay? But… but I need you to stay strong. I'll get us out of here. You'll feel the warmth of the sun again."

That last line made Diana fully start crying. I wish we were in the same room, because I wanted to hug her into me to calm her down. But I hoped my gently caressing and soft words were having at least some effect.

Eventually, Diana fully calmed down. "Guh… Thank you… Cameron… thank you for being so kind… I wish we'd never kidnapped you in the first place…"

I gently paused, before smiling comfortingly at her. "I've already forgiven you."

Diana smiled sadly at me. She looked like she wanted to hug me so badly.

"I'll help in any way I can. Just tell me if you need something. Okay?" Diana asked.

"Noted." I accepted.

And so, I started looking around the cell, looking for any way to bust out.

Until I realized something.

My trump card.

My ace in the hole.

My last trick up my sleeve.

I could only hope to Notch above that it would work.

* * *

 **So yeah.**

 **Be honest. How many of you actually expected that last bit to work out like that? I hope I didn't make it too obvious.**

 **Hopefully, the next chapter will be the one to wrap up this little plotline happening, and finally start going into something much deeper.**

 **As always guys, if you want to play MC with me, just PM me with what server, what time, and your in-game username. And… ah, well, for now, I think I might have to close my personal server. Just… for reasons, okay? I promise I'm not restarting it or anything, just… things are happening.**

 **Until next time guys, this is ButterHunter, signing off for the day. I hope to see you next time, and until then, stay awesome. =D**


	39. To the Surface or Bust

**Hello my dear readers. Welcome one and all to what I can officially say is the last chapter in this little 'S &S Corps' location.**

 **Shall we see how our characters are going to escape?**

 **Onward!**

* * *

Chapter 39: To the Surface or Bust

It took a day for my plan to fully form in my mind.

I was honestly surprised that it was able to come together in that time. Or that Old Bones hadn't had us killed yet. Diana said that it was some sort of sentimental value or something. I don't know.

Either way, my plan was the combination of Diana and Silk's knowledge of the facility, our combined ability to fight, and of course, my trump card.

That card? Why, it was none other than my trusty blades.

Rather, the hidden ones.

Indeed, the skeletons hadn't even glanced twice at the metal things on my wrists, and to be honest, I'd almost completely forgotten about them.

The blades were still in perfect condition. Zach had helped keep them that way while I trained with them over the months before this craziness. I actually knew how to fight with these things now.

Or better yet… to use them to my advantage.

You see, in one of my books, one that I was finally happy I read, it told the story of a thief, and her quest to make riches, eventually ending with her dying because of her own greed. Go figure. In that book, she does a lot of clever tricks to get out of nearly everything. From setting up traps, to learning how to cover one's tracks, she learned it all. But the one thing that she learned that was the most useful?

Learning to pick a lock with a metal rod and a hairpin.

Of course, my hidden blades were a little more… wide than that rod, but I figured if I could work them right, they'd work just as well. All that was missing was a hairpin.

There was a good news/bad news situation to this. The good news was that Diana had exactly the hairpins that I needed, her hair was always put up in twintails after all. Bad news was that she only had two. Meaning that if I wanted to pick the locks, I'd only have two chances to get it right. Not to mention that I had never tried to pick one before.

But we knew the risks. Diana, Silk, and I spent hours quietly planning our escape (Snowy would've helped, but she was over in the other cell on the other side of Diana/Silk's cell from me). They gave me as much information as they could. The keys to all the cells would be in the keymasters room, our stuff would most likely be held in Storage Room 132, and they knew their way from the front door of the facility to the bathrooms, so they'd be able to get us out from there.

The hard part was how should we execute it. If I could get out, an already monumental task, that would give me many options on how to approach our escape.

I could try and break everyone else out.

I could try to get the keys to easily get everyone out.

I could try and get our stuff to make the going easier.

There was literally dozens of options for our escape, and all of them were dangerous. I was putting all my eggs into the basket. If a skeleton or spider found and reported me, then everything was over. We'd be done for. Literally.

We spent the greater part of the second day planning out the escape. We called it, 'Operation Surface Dwellers.'

Our signal to start was when the skeletons come by and start giving us food. Once they've slid all the underprepared food into our cells, we give them a minute to get some distance away from us.

Once that passed, I quickly took one of the hairpins Diana had given me. I cocked my left wrist and watched the hidden blade slide out carefully, noiselessly. I stuck that into the bottom of the lock and held it steady.

I then took the hairpin and carefully held it to the top of the lock. Now was the tricky part. I had to line up the tumblers with the hairpin in order to open the lock and the door.

It took me the greater part of five minutes to get it right. I nearly broke the hairpin twice. Heck, I was almost surprised that the blade itself didn't break.

Eventually, the door slowly creaked open. I was out.

 **(Why did this work, you may ask? Because plot convenience.)**

I knew that I wasn't trying to pick any locks again anytime soon, what with how that first one went. So that left me with Plan B: Get the keys.

"Where's the keys to this place?" I whispered through Diana and Silk's door.

"Down the hall, take a right, and then the first left. It'll be the third door on the right." Diana whispered quickly to me. "Hurry. You don't have long."

"I'm on it." I whispered back, heading on my way.

Snowy was at her cell door. She looked at me balefully as I started to pass. "Master… please… hurry…" she whispered.

I clamped my hands on her shoulders and rubbed comfortingly. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you even know it. We'll be out of here."

Snowy looked like she wanted to come with, but that wasn't possible. I already gave the hairpins back to Diana when I unlocked the door.

Soon enough I was running for the keys. So far, so good.

 _Snowy POV…_

I sighed. I was about this close to tearing up. Only Diana's soft words through the little hole in our walls kept me from breaking apart completely.

According to Diana, skeletons and spiders kept tabs on prisoners rather little. More or less, it would be at least twenty minutes between each check of the prisoners in the facility.

That gave us about twenty minutes for Master to get the keys and get back here, which was quite a bit of time, but not a lot in the long run. Thankfully, just in case they checked in a little more liberally… we had a backup.

If they did come, we needed a way to prove that Master had not left. Of course, that was a little easier said than done, which is why it took nearly a day for the whole plan to come together.

In Master's now empty cell, if one looked closely, there appeared to be a human shaped lump under the covers of the rotten bed he was given. But underneath that?

Nothing but a load of string, woven into a large human-esque shell. Unless the guards actually entered and pulled the covers away, then no one would be any wiser.

Silk provided the string, obviously, and had done a lot of weaving to get it all right. Frankly, I don't know how she had so much string, and I don't think I wanted to know.

Now Master just had to get the keys. If we were to get them, then it wouldn't matter if we had decoys or not. We'd be able to, hopefully, get out without raising alarms.

But like I said, all that we could do was wait on Master…

 _Cameron POV…_

It took me several minutes, but I eventually made my way to the keymaster's room. I was being extra careful. I knew that this facility never really had skeletons or spiders walking the halls, but I didn't want to be so stupid as to let my guard down now of all times.

Once I entered the room, I was met with a few things. Two skeletons looking up at the walls, clipboards in hand, and the walls, every inch of them covered with a different key. I realized they had one for every cell in the entire place, all put away.

Reacting quickly, I silently pulled out my hidden blades and quickly took out both skeletons before they could even react. Diana said that she didn't care if I had to fight anyone: as far as we were concerned, we were on enemy territory.

I picked up the clipboards the two dropped, and quickly scoured each.

Eventually, I found our names all printed on the bottom of the second list. We needed keys 18 and 52. Why they were numbered like that, I'd never know.

I turned to find each of those keys…

But they weren't on their hooks. I triple-checked each wall. No dice.

My face paled. If I couldn't find the keys, this whole thing would be for naught.

Quickly, I double-checked the list.

I noticed a small sub-script on the bottom of the list. " _Keys 18 and 52 have been temporarily taken. Will be returned soon by Keymaster, room 294."_

"Well that's just perfect." I mumbled. "How the hell am I supposed to know who the Keymaster is?"

And then, the door opened.

Fear engulfed my entire heart. I turned around quickly and was met with a skeleton staring right at me.

For ten seconds, no one moves.

Then the skeleton reached behind them. For a weapon, I was sure.

I close my eyes. 'Game over.' I thought miserably. 'It's all over.'

I braced myself for the sound of a bow being pulled back…

Until I hear the sound of jangling keys.

I open my eyes. The skeleton… is holding the exact two keys I needed, on a little key ring. My eyes widen.

"Do you remember me?" the skeleton asked. It's voice instantly called back a memory.

"You… you're the skeleton who gave me the purple-ish bow…!" I slowly remembered, shaking a little.

"Correct." the skeleton agreed, looking behind it carefully. "Listen to me carefully. Old Bones is not an idiot. He knew that if you were to escape, you'd go try to find your things. But they are with them. The only way you are going to get all of your things back is to take them by force."

My eyes widened. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because I know that you rotting here would not do the world a favor." the skeleton replied. "And because Old Bones is a liar. He does not worship Notch anymore. He has changed faiths. He now believes in his 'Lord.' The instant he gets the crown, they, Old Bones and this 'Lord,' will try to destroy everything the world has ever made. They will create mass genocide. None shall be spared, not even us. The entire world would become meaningless."

The skeleton seemed to sigh. "I wish I didn't have to be the one. I wish that everything would have gone to plan. I wish we never found out about that crown in the first place."

The skeleton looked at me seriously. "Go. With Old Bones down, this organization will wither and fade. We will disperse. We will all be saved, even if most do not realize it. And you will get to be with the ones you care about again."

The skeleton turned. "Oh, and one more thing…"

The skeleton gave me one more thing. The shield I had taken from Blockington. "Use this if you need it. Arrows will be stopped by it, as long as you face them head on. Old Bones will not expect you to have this in your possession."

With that, the old skeleton finally walked away, leaving me to my very rapid and confused thoughts. Everything was happening so fast, I didn't know where to start.

But I knew one thing. If I ever wanted to see the light of day again, Old Bones needed to be taken down. Besides… if they lived, they knew where Susie lived. They could launch an attack on her.

"Oh my Notch… maybe they already have…!" I murmured.

I shook my head hard. No, no… don't think like that. Susie… she would be alright. I'm sure.

With a noticeably less amount of stealth than I had before, I got back to the cells were Snowy and the other were held.

"Master! You're okay!" Snowy nearly shouted when she saw me.

"Shhh! Not so loud!" I whispered, putting a finger to my lips.

I quickly unlocked her cell. She scampered out of it faster than I would've guessed and quickly smothered herself into me, shaking badly. "I… I was so scared… I'm still scared…"

"Shh… everything will be fine." I cooed, gently rubbing her head to calm her down. "Just calm down. We're fine."

"Cameron! Come on!" Silk shouted in a whisper voice.

Snowy pulled away from me as I quickly unlocked Silk and Diana from their cell. They stepped out and instantly crushed me and Snowy into their own hug.

It was a good minute while everyone calmed down enough. Once we did, Diana quickly murmured, "Okay, now, let's get our stuff back!"

She, Silk and Snowy started heading for the storage room. But they saw that I wasn't moving.

"Cameron! What are you doing?" Diana asked.

"We need to find Old Bones." I answered back, my head bowed.

"What?! Do you suddenly have a death wish?!" Silk asked ludicrously.

"Old Bones has our stuff." I explained solemly. "They knew if we escaped, we'd try to get our things back. So the only way we can get our things back is if we defeat Old Bones, and destroy this facility for good."

The three of them looked at me with wide eyes. "How… how do you know of that?" Snowy asked me.

"Remember the one skeleton? That gave me the bow?" I asked. "They told me. Heck, they were the one that gave me the keys. They say that Old Bones is betraying the entire world, even the S&S. If we don't stop them… the world will be in danger."

It was dead quiet for nearly three minutes. Snowy, Silk, and Diana stared at me. I stared solemnly back.

"You guys wait here." I instructed, turning my back to the three. "I have the only weapon out of all of us. I'll defeat Old Bones. I'll get our stuff back. I'll… I'll…"

My voice trailed off. I knew what I was walking into. I knew the dangers. I knew the risks. But… if there was even a chance that we could escape… then I knew I had to take it.

Slowly, I took a step forward, trying to make myself get to the throne room.

"You're not going there alone." Silk suddenly stated, firmly.

As if she had teleported, she suddenly was by my side. "Look, I've been putting up with your stuff for about a week now. You've said some insane things. But nothing is more idiotic and senseless than you thinking that you can just go and take on Old Bones by yourself. I have plenty of silk wads I can use. I can throw them at people, stun them."

"I found an old bone under the bed while waiting for you to come back." Diana added, hefting said bone like a club. "It's not much, and I'm not very experienced with melee things, but it'll work as decent protection."

"You really think I want to just wait for you again, Master?" Snowy asked me like I was crazy. "You're forgetting that skeletons naturally fear me anyway. I can cause diversions. And I have claws."

Slowly, I looked at each of the three girls. They all had one look on their faces.

They weren't gonna take no as an answer. Even if I begged, they would still after follow me. They… they all trusted me.

Why… why wouldn't I trust them?

"*sigh*... right." I slowly agreed. "But… I don't want anyone getting hurt badly. If at ANY point you start to feel overwhelmed, run away. I don't want to have to think of any of you falling down in front of my eyes."

"That won't happen." Silk murmured fiercely.

"On my life." Diana promised.

Snowy nodded, her eyes shining at me.

I sighed, and turned back towards the way. "Well then…"

"Let's get our lives back."

Slowly, we all headed forward, towards the throne room.

The skeletons and spiders were far more numerous around here than I remembered. Twice we had to duck into a room to avoid being seen.

Of everyone that was traveling, the one I was most worried about was Snowy. She seemed awfully shaky, and her eyes seemed rather watery for some reason. She always seemed to have a firm grip on my arm. I hadn't seen her like this since… since ever.

Something must be ahead. Something bad. What else would unnerve Snowy like that?

Finally, Diana and Silk lead us to a side door, saying that it would loop right into the throne room. Secret room for quick escapes and all that.

We slowly, carefully, made our way down the one block hallway. It was pitch black inside. Sounds echoed around us, probably from the throne room ahead. I was in the lead, Snowy close behind. I had my hidden blades at the ready.

Slowly, a dim light started filtering in from somewhere. I nearly took another step, before I stopped suddenly, making everyone run into my back. If I took another step forward, I would've fallen down.

The hidden passageway we were traveling in ended off here. The hole was covered by a large painting, by the looks of it. Just past that, I could hear muffled voices. One sounded like Old Bones's. The other… what was that voice…?

Slowly, carefully, I pushed the painting forward slightly. The sound of the voices became much clearer.

"My Lord." Old Bones stated. "I'm sorry. I've failed you. The crown still belongs to the humans."

"You are even more worthless than I thought." the second voice berated. It was a deep voice. Almost… resonating. It chilled my bones a little bit, and made the hairs on my arms stand up. "I asked one simple thing of you, and you couldn't do that."

"W-with all due respect, Lord, it was mostly the fault of the half-human scum." Old Bones tried. "Merely their fault. We can find another group to get it. You will see."

"Idiot!" the second voice yelled. I shuddered. "Do you even know where it is? Only the half-humans and their 'friends' know. The other skeletons and spiders that went with them left to pay 'them' a visit."

My heart skipped a beat. Did… did that voice mean… Susie? Andr?

"I-I know my Lord! A-and I promise, we will get our information from them! I-I'll send for some guards to get them as soon as we finish-"

"There will be no need for that." the second voice interrupted. I heard footsteps, and then a side door opening.

Then the voice adds one more thing. "They're already here."

And the door closed.

Before I can even process anything else, I hear the painting in front of us getting ripped off the wall.

We were caught.

"YOU!" Old Bones yelled, reaching for their bow.

I jumped down in front of them and swung my arm forward. They dodge nimbly and ready the bow.

"Hey, Lockjaw!" Silk yelled angrily, jumping down after me and throwing silk at Old Bones's face. They ducked just in time.

"GUARDS!" they yelled. The large front doors burst open, and small platoon of twenty skeletons and ten spiders flooded the room.

"I got this!" Diana shouted, reading her bone club and charging. She took out two skeletons alright, though her form was awful. She wouldn't be able to really block many strikes if they came after her.

Thankfully, Snowy was there for the assist. "Stay away!" she yelled at the skeletons, striking fear through them. Some ran away, others held their ground. I trusted that she'd be able to hold out.

Old Bones charged up a shot and fired it at me. I barely dodged out of the way. I rushed in again and tried to strike. This time, my blades skimmed across their skull, leaving a sizable piece chipped off.

"Urk!" Old Bones gagged, backing up. "Human… you are fighting a pointless battle. Surrender now, and you will be given a painless end. Merciful, is it not?"

"Fat chance of that." I yelled back. "Give back our stuff, and I'll maybe consider keeping you alive, numbskull!"

Old Bones seemed to grin. "Very well. If that's what you think…"

They stood back and charged their bow. "Let's dance."

And fired before I could even react.

The arrow found its mark in my left shoulder. Thankfully it wasn't lethal, but when it hit, suddenly I got launched backwards several blocks, something that normal arrows shoulding be able to do.

"ARGH!" I yelled in pain, taking a knee. Thankfully it wasn't a very deep wound, but it still hurt. I looked up in time to see Old Bones readying another shot. I got up and dodged just in time to avoid it.

Meanwhile, Diana and Snowy were still trying to keep the others off, which… I'm not sure if it was going okay or bad. Diana was still swinging okay, but she had an arrow stuck in her hair and what looked like a bite mark on her thigh. Other than that she seemed okay, for now. Snowy, meanwhile, looked a lot better off. The skeletons were refusing to fire at her, instead choosing to run when she got close. The spiders had no such hesitation, but Snowy was fast enough to keep up with them and get a few blows of her own.

Old Bones pulled back another shot, but this time Silk got lucky and hit Old Bones right in the eye socket, causing them to drop their arrow and claw at the web. I took the opportunity and quickly ran forward, landing several blows on the old, fraile skeleton.

Old Bones looked like they were going down any second now. One of his fingers on each hand was missing, a chunk of his skull was chipped off, and at least one rib was broken, just to name a few injuries.

"You… you…!" Old Bones managed to get out.

"Give up now, or we'll-" I started to yell.

Snowy suddenly yelled in pain. I whipped my head over to her.

Snowy was on a knee, a spider that had gotten a lucky clip on her now circling her slowly. An large bite mark was clearly visible on her leg, forcing her to stop moving around. She still looked angry, but her face was streaked with pain.

My entire world became tunnel vision. I could only focus on Snowy's pain-filled face. My nightmare from before replayed in my head.

The one where Snowy…

She…

Suddenly, I didn't care about anything else.

I charged for her, determined to save her.

I don't know if any arrows fired at me. I don't know if any spiders bit me. I didn't care. I was running on pure adrenaline and rage. And that is a spicy mix.

The spider surrounding Snowy looked up just in time to see me jamming my blades down into its head. It didn't stand a chance. It dissolved to dust, but I barely even cared about that.

"Snowy, are you okay?" I pleaded, holding her up by the shoulders.

"I… I-I'll be fine…" she told me. "Look out!"

I turned just in time to get clubbed upside the face with a random skeleton's bow. I was knocked back into the wall behind us hard. Snowy screamed for me, and started growling dangerously at the attacker. It fled away fast, leaving Snowy to limply crawl towards me.

"Master! Are you okay?" she yelled, shaking me.

"Ugh… ye-yeah… I'm good." I managed, rubbing my head where it hit the stone hard. I was dazed, but otherwise uninjured. "W-we need to get you to a safer spot-"

"Human!" Old Bones yelled suddenly. I looked up.

Diana and Silk were up by the throne, restrained by two skeletons and spiders tying silk around their wrists and ankles. "Give up now! Or they will be the first to go!" the soon-to-be-king instructed.

"N-no… we got distracted…" Snowy mumbled fearfully to me. The rest of the skeletons and spiders that weren't injured were surrounding us slowly, their bows and fangs at the ready. Altogether a small group of about ten assorted spiders and skeletons, mostly skeletons.

Snowy feebly tried to get in front of me to protect me, but her leg didn't like that. She yelped in pain the moment she tried to move it.

I looked around frantically. Surely there was something around here that I could use…

I saw plenty of arrows and bows lying around from fallen skeletons, and plenty of string as well.

But if I made any sudden moves to get those things, Diana and Silk would bite the dust. Quite literally.

Was… was this it? Was it all over? Did we try to fight an impossible battle?

No! There has to be a way! I just need time!

But the skeletons in front of us were becoming impatient, and Snowy could only keep them at bay for so much longer.

Slowly, I tried to stand. I was shaky, but I rose to my feet.

Everyone watched me as I quietly rose to my feet.

Then, in that moment, I knew exactly what to do.

"I… I…" I got out, my voice soft. Everyone watched me carefully.

"I surrender." I managed, my head hanging. I quickly pulled off my hidden blades, dropping them behind me. They landed safely in Snowy's lap.

"Wise choice, human." Old Bones told me, signaling for the guards to surrounding to lower their weapons.

"Cameron! What are you doing?!" Silk yelled at me.

"This wasn't part of the plan!" Diana tagged on.

I ignored them. I slowly walked forward, away from a pale, scared Snowy, right back up to the base of the throne area.

Old Bones already had their bow at their side, and arrow in the other hand. The rest of the skeletons and spiders surrounded me to make sure I couldn't run anywhere.

My head stayed bowed as I stood in front of Old Bones. I forced a chuckle. "Heh… so this is how it ends, huh?"

Diana and Silk could only look at me. They were shocked at what I was doing. Snowy couldn't even look. With no guards around her, she tried to stand up, her hands in her face.

I solemnly looked up at Old Bones. They seemed to be smiling cruelly, or maybe that was always their face.

"Good-bye, filthy human." Old Bones parted, pulling up the bow. "Any last words?"

I thought about it for a second. Then, I replied simply.

"This will not go unpunished."

Old Bones seemed to scoff at my comment. They hefted up their bow and prepared to fire at me.

The entire room was quiet. The troops were looking at me, weapons at the ready. Snowy couldn't look at me. Diana and Silk stared at me in fear.

Time seemed to slow down.

The arrow flew threw the arrow towards me…

I saw Diana and Silk's faces contort into ones of pure terror…

My head was staring right at the arrow…

And suddenly, everything sped up.

As if by magic, I suddenly had my shield in my hands, easily blocking the arrow from Old Bones.

I used the shield to sweep the legs out from every skeleton surrounding me. They fell to the ground hard.

I threw myself, shield first, at Old Bones. We toppled to the ground.

Suddenly, I had Old Bones's bow in my hands, pointed right at their face.

My foot was over their broken ribs, pushing hard. They couldn't move even if they tried.

"I said so, didn't I?" I reminded Old Bones. "You're reign of terror ends here, traitor."

If Old Bones could spit in my face, I'm sure they would've. As it was, they still looked furious at my ability to get away.

Right up until the arrow broke their skull.

In moments, the old, broken skeleton dissolved into dust, leaving behind only a simple bone.

The skeletons quickly dropped Diana and Silk's bonds in fear. Their leader was gone.

They, and the other skeletons and spiders, ran as fast as they could from us. We were alone.

We… we did it.

For a moment, all was completely calm.

Then suddenly, I get tackled to the ground.

"Master!" Snowy yelled, looking half relieved, half angry. But mostly relieved. "You had me so worried! What were you thinking?!"

"A way to get the upper hand." I answered. "Are you hurt?"

She glanced down at her leg. It still looked rather fresh. "I'll… I'll be fine." she managed.

"I got first-aid." Diana announced, a random first-aid kit in her hands. "I've dealt with spider bites before. Let me see it…"

As Diana started mending Snowy's leg, Silk quickly got my attention. "Hey. Found your stuff."

She held out my bag and tool belt. I was about to ask where she found it, until I looked past her and saw the double chest just underneath the throne Old Bones once had. "So, they really did have our things then." I started, throwing my stuff back on.

"Yep. That was some quick thinking, Cameron." Silk praised, looking down at my discarded shield. "Where'd you get that thing, anyway?"

"Had it when I left the keymasters room. Remember that old skeleton that gave me the bow…?" I asked.

Silk's eyes widened. "Well… at least we have ONE person we can still trust…"

"Yeah, but… now we need to get out of here." I mumbled. I looked at Snowy, who now had a sizable amount of gauze around her leg. "And Snowy's kinda out of commision for the moment…"

"Well… there's always the slow route." Diana called out. "We could just dig up in a staircase until we hit the surface."

"Yeah, but… is that a good plan? I mean, we wouldn't know exactly where we are in comparison to the entrance…" I asked.

"Well… we can't just sit here and twiddle our thumbs." Silk berated.

So we came up with a compromise. We would carefully run through the facility, looking out for enemies that would hinder us, and once we reached the general area of the exit, if there was any indication of an enemy we would dig out in a staircase to the surface, blocking the path we came from with cobble.

The plan worked pretty well. It was very stressful for a while, as skeletons and spiders alike were running around the place, and once or twice we were nearly caught, but eventually we made it to the exit.

There wasn't anyone even guarding it, which made me suspicious. "Is it possible they ran out there ahead of time to intercept us?" I asked.

"Well… we have our things now, so we should be able to hold them off long enough to get away." Diana offered, holding up her bow again. "But… something tells me there's no one out there."

As we headed out, we were greeted a bright, afternoon sun. Not a cloud in the sky.

I held out my bow, looking left and right for any trouble. Nothing.

"All clear." I called back. The three followed after me.

It… it was over.

We… we were free.

Then, suddenly…

"Susie." I muttered, my eyes widening. "They… Old Bones and that person said he sent a party to deal with 'them.'"

"You mean the people you were living with?" Silk asked.

Snowy's eyes grew big. "We… we have to get back… now!"

"That's a good plan."

I almost started to agree, until…

"Who… who said that?" I asked, turning around.

"Oh, no special person. Just the humble and simple person to your left." the voice asked again.

I knew that voice. Or at least, I've heard it before.

It was the same voice that had spoken to Old Bones just before we were found.

I turned to this left to see… a person…? I would say that, but I couldn't make out anything, really. This man wore a black hooded cape that covered everything about him. Even his legs were lost into its dark folds. He was sitting on a nearby tree stump, from a tree that recently fell over from the looks of things.

"Who… who are you?" I asked, a hand on my sword hilt.

"You should not be so quick to judge." the man stated, standing up. "Assuming I'm dangerous just because you don't know who I am."

"Wha… what's going on?!" I demanded. "I-"

"You care about your friends, yes?" the man interrupted.

I blinked. "Wha-?"

"Answer me. Do you care about your friends?" the man asked again, this time with a much more demanding undertone.

"I-... y-yes?" I responded, unsure of why he was asking that to me.

"Then you can still make it in time." the man instructed. A hand came from the folds, pointing directly behind me. "If you travel in that direction, you will eventually reach your home. If you are fast, you will beat the group heading there already."

"W… why are you telling me this? Who ARE you, even?" I demanded.

"Why? Because I feel like it. You disposed of someone I was going to anyway. As such, I feel… generous enough to help you once." the man responded.

" _But know this."_ the man suddenly added, his voice suddenly beyond deep. " _You will not get any more generosity from me. You are a pawn to me. You are the last hurdle to fulfilling my dreams. Know that I will not stop trying to break you until you are discarded from the universe forever. There is hell, and then there is me. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"_

I nodded without even realizing it.

"Good." the man agreed, returning to his normal voice. "Now, our time grows short. I'll must send you on your way. Return to your friends, lest you wish to lose them forever. Goodbye, Cameron."

I was stunned, until I remembered something. "W-wait, you never told me-"

"My name?" the man asked, as if it amused him. "That is the question, is it not? Well… you will not live long enough to fully remember it, so… I will tell you."

The man turned his back to me. "I have been called many names. The Devil. Rage. The Abyss. Notch's partner. Notch's friend. Notch's best man. Notch's rival. Notch's… equal. But you, a human named Cameron… you will know my true name."

The man slowly pulled back his hood a bit. " _My name… my name, one that strikes fear into whomever hears it. It is… called."_

Suddenly, he turned to face me. " _Herobrine. The Destroyer of Worlds."_

I… I could see his eyes… but… they… they weren't eyes… they were just… just… white, blank, empty spots. I took one look at them, and suddenly, my blood became ice. I felt as small as a mouse, and wanted to run away as such. My legs became like water, almost impossible to hold me up.

Then, I blinked…

And he was gone.

"Right, where's the house at, Cam-" Silk started to ask, before looking at me.

I… I was shaking. My face was pale. I was staring right where that man's eyes had been. I… I could barely stand.

"Cameron? What's wrong?" Diana asked, looking where I was.

"D-did… didn't you see him?" I asked, pointing a shaky finger. "R-right there…"

"Umm… no. No one was there." Snowy answered, looking at me.

"Th-there… there was a person… right there." I stammered.

"No… no one was there. I was looking at you the whole time." Silk explained, looking rather concerned. "Are… are you alright Cameron?"

"I-I swear there was a person just there… he talked to me, and… and…" I tried to convince them.

But suddenly, I remembered his words.

" _If you travel in that direction, you will eventually reach your home. If you are fast, you will beat the group heading there already."_

"We… we need to move. NOW." I stated.

I didn't give them other words. I started to quickly jog in the direction that… that person told me to.

I didn't even notice if Snowy and the others were following me. All I cared about was getting home. I needed to save Susie… I needed to save Andr.

What felt like a five minute trip actually took nearly fifty minutes, with me just dashing ahead. I needed to get home… I needed to get home.

Finally, I climbed over a large hill, and I finally saw it. Home.

But unfortunately, I saw something I didn't else I didn't like.

There was two skeletons, fully armored on top of it, and three spiders. They were heading directly for the house.

"*pant* *pant* *pant*" I heard someone behind me. "Ma… Master… slow… slow down…"

Snowy crawled next to me, looking very winded. Diana and Silk were right behind her, looking little better.

"Do you see that?" I angrily asked. "They're going to attack our friends."

Snowy quickly picked herself up as best as she could. "We… we have to… we have to stop them…!" she managed to say.

"Let's go!" I shouted, running with renewed strength. My sword was in my hand, my grip on it so tightly my knuckles were pale.

As reached the door, I heard a loud scream come from inside.

Susie's scream.

I kicked the door open and charged in. Andr was right in the living room, two spiders guarding her. She seemed afraid to attack them.

I quickly slashed right at them, an arrow from Diana serving as a follow up, and a combo of silk to the face and Snowy's nails finished off the last one.

"C-Cameron?!" Andr shouted, her face pale. "Y-you-!"

"Details later! Where's Susie?!" I yelled.

"AHHHHHH!" a scream came from upstairs.

"Susie!" I yelled, running up the stairs. Snowy ran after me.

Another scream came from upstairs in Andr's room. I burst through the door and pulled out my glowing bow, fully extended.

Susie was against the wall, held by the two skeletons and a spider behind them.

"Let me go, you brutes!" Susie yelled, but it was for naught. She couldn't shake them off.

"You heard the lady! Let my friend go!" I added on, pointing right at a skeleton's head.

The four suddenly looked right at me. The skeletons and spider looked very fearful but… Susie…

Susie looked like she couldn't believe her eyes. "C-C… Cam… Cameron…?" she breathed.

"I'm not gonna say it again! Let her go!" I roared one more time.

The standoff was held for a moment longer. Finally, the skeletons slowly raised their arms up in surrender. The spider backed off.

"Good. Now, get out of here and forget you ever saw this happen." I instructed, gesturing with my bow for them to leave. "Make sure they leave, Snowy." I added.

Snowy nodded, and herded the intruders away and out the door.

Everything suddenly… became calm again.

I… I was home.

Home… I missed saying that word.

Susie looked like she was about to faint, cry, and fall over, all at once. And she… she looked awful. Bags were clearly visible under her eyes, her eyes looked slightly darker, and everything about her just screamed 'drained.'

"Ca… Cameron… you… you came back…" Susie breathed, her eyes watering hard.

"Of course I did. I swore my life on it." I told her, closing the door behind me.

That was all she could take before throwing herself at me, sobbing hard into my chest. "Cameron…! Cameron…! I… I… I… I'm so sorry…! I'm so sorry…!"

"Shhh… it's okay… it's okay…" I cooed, patting her back comfortingly. To show that this wasn't a dream. That this was real. I was back. We were back. Everything was fine.

Susie must've stayed pushed up against me like that, crying her eyes out, for nearly ten minutes. And I didn't mind any second of them. I was about to start crying myself. Words can't describe how much my heart pined for her. It was as if a piece of me had been suddenly taken away, and now I was finally reclaiming it as my own.

After ten minutes of crying, she slowly pried herself off of me. By now I had sat us down on Andr's bed, rubbing her head and back gently to calm her down.

"Are you convinced I'm real yet?" I asked, a smile playing on my lips.

Susie, though thoroughly beaten, managed a small laugh. "Oh, Cameron… when you and Snowy disappeared, I… I…"

"Shhh… no no… don't talk about that." I instructed lightly. "Don't focus on that stuff. You'll get sick if you do."

She started to breath normally. "I'm… I'm just… so, so happy… you're back… I never want you to leave me again…"

"And I won't." I promised. "And if I truly have to, you can bet that I'll be right back, no matter the cost."

Susie looked up into my eyes. I stared back into hers. "Come on." I encouraged. "Show me that smile I missed so much."

Susie giggled softly. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I wrapped mine around her torso.

She smiled softly. It was a fraction of her true smile, but I still loved it all the same. She looked so… worn out. I needed to get her back to normal. Soon.

"That's more like it." I praised, pulling her closer to me.

It was just us in our own little world once more. The way we always wanted it to be.

Without saying anything more, we kissed.

It's short. It's soft. It's everything I remembered.

And I could never truly describe the happiness coursing through me.

I felt myself falling in love all over again.

When we parted, Susie looked so relieved, so satisfied… she literally passed out in my arms. She gently snored in my chest, finally achieving peace of mind.

"Heh… silly woman." I joked, rubbing her head lovingly.

I gently turned her around so that I was carrying her princess-style, and I slowly headed out the door and downstairs.

I soon entered our bedroom, still a light, silly smile on my lips. Carefully, I tucked her into the bed, listening to her gentle breathing all the way.

"Sleep well, my sweet." I whispered to her, kissing her one more time on the cheek. I could see the corners of her mouth turn up just a little as I did that.

That made me smile brighter too. These past few days had been pretty rough on all of us.

But now, everyone seems to be okay. Susie is safe. Andr is safe. Snowy is home. I'm home. Diana and Silk are away from their cruel organization.

Everyone… everyone was finally safe.

Hopefully.

* * *

 **Yayyy! Reunion!**

 **How's that for a fitting way to wrap up the 'S &S Corps' chapters? I hope I did a decent job on the fight scene.**

 **Also, FINALLY started posing 'the man' as a real threat. Now I can finally say 'Herobrine' for crying out loud. It was driving me insane.**

 ***takes a half glance out the window to the outside world* Yeah… insane.**

 ***cough* Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Question of the day: Do you think Susie's reaction was overdramatic, or perfectly valid?**

 **If you guys ever want to play Minecraft with me, PM me with your in-game username, what server, and when. Until next time guys, this is ButterHunter, and I'll see you all again, next time. Stay awesome.**


	40. Premonitions

**Uhhh… hhhheeeeeeyyy…**

 **Okay, yeah, I'm extremely late again, I know. I've got no excuse for it again, I know.**

 **But at least I'm actually uploading now! Hopefully I can get a boost of writing vigor for a while now…**

 **Anyway, here's the chapter. Thanks for being patient with me guys.**

* * *

Chapter 40: Premonitions

It wasn't until another thirty minutes until Susie woke up again.

In that time Snowy and I had finished preparing what we wanted to say to her. Snowy was particularly ecstatic about seeing 'her mistress' again.

Andr had been very glad to see us make the return. She said that Susie hadn't been doing so well right up until we came back. She'd been having a lot of sleepless nights, according to Andr. Heck, even Andr herself had a few dark circles under her eyes.

Once Susie finally did come out, the first thing she found was Snowy tackling her to the ground, squealing giddly. "Mistress! I missed you so much!"

"Ow… oh, Snowy!" Susie replied, having not realizing Snowy was back too. She quickly sat up and completely smothered the wolf girl into her arms. Snowy cuddled her right back.

Once they had their fill, Susie stood back up and saw me again, leaning against the counter. "C-Cameron…" she breathed, stepping up to me.

"Susie." I breathed back.

She couldn't say anything more. She simply hugged him again. The bags under her eyes had considerably lessened, but they were still visible. She seemed… more relaxed already. More there, if that makes sense.

I hated to do it, but I needed to grab her attention one more time. "Susie? There's… some people you should meet."

Susie looked up at me through our hug. "H… huh?"

She looked behind me to see… Diana and Silk. Standing very formally, almost stiffly, in front of her. Their faces were… somber.

Slowly, Susie let me go and looked at the two. "Who… are they?"

"Susie, was it?" Diana asked. "I'm Diana. This is my college, Silk. We… we first want to apologize. From the bottom of our hearts."

"Yeah, truly." Silk agreed. "We… we never wanted to cause you so much grief about Cameron and Snowy."

"You… you two…" Susie slowly murmured.

"Y-yes, w-we did take them in the first place, but I want to assure you that we didn't want to cause them any harm at all. Neither did we want an attack on you. Our old leader sent that attack on you and hurt ALL of us." Diana explained hurriedly.

Susie still didn't look very reassured. Quite the opposite. "You… you took them…" she murmured darkly, her normally calm and peaceful attitude quickly vanishing.

"Susie… calm down." I pleaded, rubbing her shoulders. "I swear they had good intentions. Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here, would I?"

Susie's eyes glanced back and forth between me and the pair.. "I… I guess…" she agreed slowly.

"So… can… can we put that behind us?" Silk asked hopefully.

Susie stared at the two for about thirty long, long seconds. Finally, she looked at me once more. I nodded, looking into her eyes. I told her with my eyes, 'they're not lying, I swear to you.'

"I… yes." Susie agree, relaxing her shoulders. "You… you were acting on orders, not… not just because you wanted to." she agreed, not sounding totally convinced. But it was better than nothing.

"Exactly." Silk agreed, her own form relaxing too. Even Silk seemed to slightly deflate.

It was a long time before anyone spoke again. When it was, Snowy suddenly had a realization. "Wait… where… where are you two… going to go…?"

The looks on Diana and Silk's faces said it all. The… the S&S Corps were gone. They… they had no other place to go.

I suddenly thought back to Silk's diary. She seemed… so sad while traveling. And then, when she found the S&S, it was… like a piece of her was complete. And Diana… well, I'm more than sure that she liked having Silk around too.

But now… they had nothing. They only had each other. And now the whole world was, quite literally, against them. Again.

I couldn't let them live like that. I'd been like before. It was the hardest time of my entire life, just being… alone. Listening to the voices in your head. Fear taking over, making you always move…

I can't let that happen to them. They deserve better. No one deserved that kind of life.

"Susie, Snowy, Andr… can I speak to you three in the bedroom… now?" I asked softly. The three of them looked rather confused at my sudden intrusion, but they complied and followed me into the bedroom. Diana and Silk just watched us as we disappeared through the door

"What's wrong?" Andr asked, taking a seat on the bed.

I started pacing. "I… I can't believe I'm thinking this, but… we can't just leave them to wander the world, hoping that they get to find a place to call home. At the very least, we need to give them a temporary place to stay, just until they can find somewhere for sure."

Susie looked at me like I was insane. "Cameron. They KIDNAPPED you and Snowy. They KIDNAPPED you." she repeated slowly. "And now you want to give them a bed here?!"

"Look, I've been around them for days now. I've gotten to know what they stand for. What they want. Their drive, motivations, all that. And they aren't the kind of people you think they are. They… they really go for what they care about. You know what I'm talking about, right Snowy?"

Snowy nodded. "Mistress, they really are nice people. They really aren't bad, they just… were under false premonitions. Give them a chance. Just one."

"I… I have to side with Cameron and Puppy on this one, Susie." Andr mumbled. "They… they don't seem like bad people. They got them both back here, after all. And if they really wanted to hurt them… wouldn't they already have done so?"

Susie looked between all three of us. It was obvious what she was worried about: me. Losing me. For all she knew, they were working so hard to make a good relationship just to stab us in the back at the last second.

But once she took another look into my eyes, her will folded. Not out of giving up or an unwillingness to argue or anything like that.

Simply because she trusted me.

"I… oh… okay." Susie mumbled, looking directly into my eyes. "But… if they… if they make any attempts to hurt you, or anyone here-!"

"Then I'll see it that they can't hurt us ever again." I promised firmly. Everyone present knew that I was being deadly serious about that promise.

Susie took one more deep breath. "Alright… they can share the last guest bedroom me and Andr finished while you were gone. I'll make another bed for one of them and another chest. Just for a week… right?"

"Just for a week." I agreed.

Susie nodded. "Okay… I'll get that done. Can you tell them…?"

"I'm on it." I agreed, heading out of the bedroom.

I headed right for Diana and Silk, who were huddled together, seemingly working together on something.

I cleared my throat. Silk looked up at me. "Oh, you finished already?" she asked, stepping away from her skeleton friend.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Susie to finish up something, and then I have something to ask of you both." I responded. Diana and Silk looked grimly at each other.

A minute later, Susie came back downstairs and nodded at me slowly. "Okay… thank you Susie." I thanked. "Follow me you two. Please."

Diana and Silk followed me upstairs, seemingly nervous. "What are you, ah… going to ask us?"

I chose not to answer just yet. I instead lead them up the stairs and through the door. Just like Susie had said, there was two beds and two small chests at the foot of each, with a lamp and a small armoire.

Diana and Silk looked confused. "Wh… what's this?"

"I wanted to ask you two…" I started. "We… we basically made you, ah, leave your little organization. Well, they betrayed you, but… I still feel bad about it. You both… really seemed to like it there before. And… well, I don't want to force you to go wandering the world alone. So… if you want, we'd been willing to give you a place to stay for a few days. A week, even."

Diana and Silk's eyes widened. "L-live… live with you…?"

"I-if you want to, of course." I added.

Silk looked… emotional. "Y-you… you really care that much about us…?"

"Well, living with the two of you for a week has that kind of effect." I responded, rubbing my neck. "What'dya say?"

Diana and Silk looked like they didn't know what to say. They just stood there, looking from the beds to me.

Diana made the first move. She suddenly shot forward and clamped her arms around me tightly, visibly shaking a tiny bit. "Th-thank… thank you, Cameron… so much."

"It's not THAT big of a problem to lend you space, is it…?" I asked, taken by surprise of her reaction.

"St-still…" Silk responded, coming up to my side. "It's… it's hard to believe you'd… be so nice to us still, even after all that."

"Have you MET me?" I asked again. "I can't keep grudges for long. That's not in my nature. Besides, I… I don't want to see you have to worry about finding somewhere else. Here, at least you'll have a chance to look before leaving, right?"

The two girls nodded slowly in agreement. Diana's arms gently tightened around me, and soon enough Silk couldn't control herself and hugged into my back.

I chuckled slightly. "You two are so strange sometimes…"

They offered no response; they knew it was true.

Diana eventually had enough and left to go do something, probably thank Susie and the others for letting her stay as well. That just left me alone with Silk.

Silk sighed, choosing a bed for herself and sitting down on it. "This bed's even comfier than my old one…" she murmured, closing her eyes gently.

"Already settling in, eh?" I asked jokingly, sitting on the chest at the foot of the bed.

Silk glanced up at me. "I… Cameron, I…"

"Hey, hey… it's no trouble." I responded, patting her leg gently. "You and Diana deserve it."

Silk sat up, watching me with very watery eyes. "I… I can't… thank you enough. Really, I can't."

I was quiet, letting her talk. She seemed… happy. Truly happy.

"Do you… ah, need anything?" I asked. I had realized I hadn't offered anything for them since they arrived. How rude of me. They gave me things, I should be a better host!

"O-oh, umm… n-no, I'm fine… thank you…" Silk denied, blushing and glancing away. I tilted my head at her.

"W-w… well… there… there is one thing…" she slowly started, working up a harder blush. "Can… can I… have… umm…"

I goaded her with my eyes, nodding. 'Go on…' I urged softly.

"Can… can I…" Silk stammered. She stopped, took a deep breath, and then tried one more time. "C-can I, umm… have, you know… a hug…?"

I blinked. That was new. Silk… well, she wasn't exactly the type of person to normally want a hug. Having her ask me that… noticeably threw me off, but I nevertheless recovered and nodded. "That's all?"

"Sh-shut up…" Silk lightly moaned, blushing furiously. She couldn't look me in the eyes.

I chuckled. "Alright, alright… come here." I cooed gently, scooting closer to her and reached out for her.

She seemed a little squirmy at first, but nonetheless accepted the hug, over time relaxing into my arms.

She seemed perfectly content with me there, gently embracing her thin frame. It was almost like Diana hugging me, simply enjoying my warmth.

Then, she tensed up. She gently pulled away, blushing furiously. "Umm… sorry. I… I-I…"

I gently smiled, clasping my hand around her shoulder. "Hey hey hey… it's okay. It's not a bad thing to want a hug, is it?"

Slowly, Silk shook her head. "Then why are you so embarrassed?" I asked.

Silk seemed like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't form the words. Eventually, she shook her head to clear it, then managed, "W-well… I-I just think you… you're being so… so kind… i-it's a little… overwhelming."

I chuckled a little. "Well… if you ever need anything else, don't hesitate to find me, okay? I'm happy to help."

With that thought, I exited the guest room, leaving Silk to herself. I didn't know it at the time, but if I had looked back, I would've seen Silk watching me the whole time I left, with a… different look in her eyes.

Slowly, I made my way downstairs. It felt very surreal being back home. It was as if everything was suddenly coming back to me, the way the floor softly creaks when you walk on it, the familiar sounds of talking echoing through it, even the little details like the handrail on the left side were so… nostalgic.

As soon as I made it down, the first thing I saw when I looked over were Andr and Snowy, cuddling each other like they hadn't seen each other in a year.

I walked close to the pair and leaned against the far wall. "Enjoying each other?"

Both of them heavily blushed when I said something, but neither let go. "Y-yes…" Andr managed. "B-but I missed you too! I swear!"

"Yeah, yeah." I brushed off, grinning. "Say, where's Susie?"

"Bedroom. Though… I think I saw Diana heading in that direction too…" Snowy slowly murmured, unsure.

"Oh boy… I better go check on that…" I nervously muttered.

I headed over to bedroom door. I already could hear voices talking on the other side. Thankfully, neither of the two seemed to be yelling.

I knocked on the door. Susie called out, "It's open."

I opened the door, poking my head through. Just like I thought, Susie and Diana were here, Diana leaning against the wall and Susie sitting on the bed. "Am I interrupting anything, or…?" I asked.

"No, no." Diana murmured. "I was just… um… apologizing."

"She's been saying over and over how sorry she is about everything that happened." Susie corrected. "It's a little overwhelming, really."

I stepped in and stood in front of Susie. "Anything else?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing really. I've already told her I forgive her and everything… I don't know what else to say."

It was a little bit of an awkward silence while that statement hung in the air. Finally, Diana cleared her throat and slowly murmured, "I'll just… go and sort through my things…"

She slowly left, casting one more glance back at me and Susie.

Susie sighed. She looked up to see me watching her with concern. She weakly giggled. "You get so cute when you're worried…"

I blushed, but didn't say anything.

Susie patted the bed in front of her, looking… longingly. I understood immediately. I gently sat down in front of her. The moment I stopped moving, her arms wrapped around me tightly.

"I missed you… so much…" Susie whispered, a single tear drop flowing out of her closed eyes.

"And I missed you too…" I whispered back, hugging her just as strongly.

Susie shook a little in my arms… "I… I almost… gave up on you. I was… about to accept that… you were… dead. But then… that letter…"

She couldn't finished. Frankly, she didn't need to. I gently shushed her and pulled her deeper into my arms, saying, "Hey, hey… it's okay. I'm back. You don't need to worry about that anymore. I promise."

Susie shuddered in my arms. "Oh, Cameron… please… never let me go…"

I patted her back gently. I didn't respond.

We must've stayed in that embrace for nearly ten minutes, maybe even longer. I'm not completely sure. All I know is that when we pulled away, Susie didn't look happy about it.

I clasped my hands around her cheeks. "Why must you be so adorable…?" I asked softly.

Susie gently giggled. This one sounded real. She locked her eyes with mine and refused to look anywhere else.

It wasn't long before our lips met.

Susie, normally so strong when we kiss, seemed… afraid. Maybe it was a lingering fear that I was going to leave her again. That sometime, somehow, I'll be separated from her again. The thought terrified her.

I tried my best to reassure her by pulling her closer to me. I knew that Susie was just paranoid right now, for a good reason. Time will pass. She'll calm down. She'll go back to her normal self again.

Another five minutes was spent with us kissing. Surprisingly enough, Susie was the one to pull away first.

I stared deep into her emerald green eyes. "Feel better?" I asked warmly.

Susie nodded slowly, yet deeply. She yawned. I think she was still a little tired from worrying about me and Snowy.

Quietly, I tucked Susie under the covers of the bed again. Once under, Susie locked our gazes again.

"Please… promise me that you won't do anything stupid while I'm asleep… please…?" Susie murmured, her eyelids heavy.

I chuckled gently and kissed her forehead. "I'll certainly try." I agreed. "Rest easy, my sweet princess."

Her cheeks became tinted a darker green. She slowly closed her eyes, and immediately passed out again.

'Wow… I'm almost a little worried. If she keeps that up, then will she be able to sleep tonight…' I thought.

I brushed the thought away. She'll be fine.

Slowly, I wandered out, listening to the gentle snores from Susie…

 _A few hours later…_

Dinner was a… well, I'll be generous and say, _hectic_ affair.

I'm sure I've said this before, but I really need to work on making a better area for us to eat. Because now we had six people eating with us, and the counter could only seat four.

I ended up giving my seat away for Diana, and Susie actually volunteered hers for Silk too, though I know it was just an excuse to be near me.

It wasn't all that bad at least. We still had our two armchairs by the fire, which we turned around and dragged over to sit with the others.

Susie and I had gone out of our way to make a big dinner for us and our guests. There was so much good stuff on the counter that it was a miracle the others could even fit their plates on it.

Despite that, even with all the perfect chicken, steak, veggies, fish, everything Susie and I made, everyone managed a second helping. Honestly, it was probably the best dinner I've had at that point. For a moment, we were able to forget everything that had happened the past few days. We were just six ordinary friends who were eating a well-cooked meal together.

Everyone pitched in to help clean up. Though to be fair, there really wasn't much else that Silk and Diana could really do. Best they could do was help dry off the plates and wash the stove and oven, and even that was a little… well, short.

Anyway, everyone slowly started drifting their own ways, Diana and Silk heading to their shared room, Snowy drifting over to the fireplace, and Susie standing behind the counter, wiping it down one last time.

Only Andr stayed behind. She was leaning next to the front door, seemingly thinking about something. She seemed a little… squirmy. "Something wrong?" I whispered to her, leaning up next to her.

She glanced at me, then at Susie. Susie seemed to glance up, and make eye contact with Andr. The two made some sort of silent conversation, and then Susie nodded gently.

Before I could even ask, Andr suddenly tightly grabbed my hand, and quickly took me up to the very top of the house. The sight of our first kiss.

The next thing I knew, Andr suddenly knelt down and planted her lips onto mine, her face burning brighter than the setting sun.

Before I could even react, she pulled away and hugged me tight. "I missed you, Cameron… so much…"

I gently hugged her back, taken off guard by her very fast advance. "I-I missed you too, Andr…" I managed.

She didn't say anything for a moment. She seemed content with her embrace on me. Thankfully it wasn't one that threatened to crush me into paste, but it was still a little tight.

Eventually, she let me go and stared into my eyes. By that point we had both sat down, still within hugging distance, and my mind had fully shaken off the confusion, ready to actually love her back.

"Cameron, I…" Andr started, looking around embarrassedly. A lock of her long, brown hair fell forward in front of her eyes. I gently brushed it away, keeping my hand on her cheek.

The sun slowly reached halfway past the horizon. It illuminated Andr's face, bringing out the softness of her features, the delicate curve of her cheeks, the cute way her lips pursed when she was extremely nervous.

I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned forward and kissed her myself, savoring her faint warmth. Her arms tighten around me, and her face burns purple, but she doesn't resist in any fashion.

She always looked so thin, so fragile, like at any moment she would break. And yet she easily had more than twice my natural strength at all times. I always had to remind myself of that fact when we hugged, when we kissed.

I slowly applied more pressure to the kiss. My mind was on autopilot. Andr gives no resistance as I slowly push her backwards…

Soon enough, Andr's lying on her back, blushing harder than obsidian, moaning lightly in our embrace.

I'm not sure when we let up, or who stopped first for that matter. All I know is that when we did pull away, we were gasping for breath. That and the sun had fully slunk past the distant horizon.

"Andr…" I slowly managed, staring deeply into her swirly purple eyes.

She said nothing. Her breathing slowly returned to normal.

Before, she always used to berate me for looking into her eyes. Said that she hated when I did it, made her self-conscious. Now, though, that girl was long gone. Matter of fact, I think she hated me NOT looking into them when we were together like this.

Slowly, I glanced at my wristwatch.

 _9:15 p.m._

"Oh, wow… how long were we out here…?" I asked myself, looking over at the horizon. I just realized how dark it was getting.

Slowly, we sat up, varied amounts of blush on our faces. "I… I guess we should get back, huh?" Andr asked nervously.

"Yeah…" I murmured, almost a little disappointed. Nevertheless, I pushed it away and smiled at her. "I'm glad I'm home again."

Andr smiled at me. It was a small, cute smile that suited her personality to the T.

She grabbed my hand gently and teleported us to her room, where I bid her goodnight.

As I stepped out, I nearly ran right into Snowy, who seemed to be thinking to herself. "O-oh! Master! I… uh…" she stammered, blushing the faintest amount.

I tilted my head. "Something wrong?"

"W-well, I was, you know, just…" Snowy started, not making direct eye contact. "I-Is Andr there…?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, she is. Something wrong?" I asked again.

Snowy blushed harder. "N-n-no! No-nothing's wrong, just… ah…"

Then she apparently gave up. "I, umm… made a promise to Andr tonight… that I would, umm… keep her company tonight…"

Have I mentioned how adorable Snowy gets when she doesn't know what to say? She seems to kinda shrink in size almost, the way she presses her arms and legs together and tucks her head downward, like a guilty puppy.

I chuckled and patted her head. "Then I shouldn't keep you waiting. She's right in there. Night, Snowy." I coaxed.

I started walking away. Snowy grabbed my arm and stared into my eyes. "W-wait! S-so… you're… okay with… me not sleeping with you tonight…?" she asked slowly, softly.

I chuckled again. "I think the better question is if YOU are." I responded.

Snowy blushed a little harder. She didn't say anything.

I nudged her towards the door. "Go. Andr probably wants a little more company tonight. I'll see you in the morning." I insisted.

She glanced at me, her face red, but she slowly knocked on Andr's door and opened it. She entered, but not before giving me one last 'goodnight' look.

I sighed. Snowy… she's a funny girl, she is.

Well, enough of that. I passed by Diana and Silk's guest room, carefully leaning against the door to hear in. I could hear one of them faintly snoring, while the other seemed to either be reading or writing something. Hard to tell exactly, but if I was right, wouldn't be too hard to guess who was doing what.

I made my way downstairs and quietly knocked on the bedroom door. A soft voice rang out from it, saying, "Come in…"

I opened the door and entered. Susie wasn't in bed. She was still wearing her day clothes. She was sitting at the foot of it… waiting for me, I guess.

I closed the door behind me. "Hey." I said in greeting. Not one of my better openings.

Susie managed a light smirk. She didn't say anything.

I sat down next to her, rubbing her back once more. We didn't speak. We didn't need to. It was a little hard to describe, but imagine a time where you and a person feel very close to are together. You don't make any movements, no actions, you don't even need to say words. You can just THINK them, and you understand each other just fine. That's kinda what was happening between me and Susie.

We stare into each other's eyes. Her green eyes look much less tired than when I found them earlier.

Slowly, I kiss her. She returns the favor. No moaning. No tongues. Just a simple, sweet kiss. Just like our first.

While we kiss, we carefully got under the covers. We're so close, we can feel our heartbeats, beating together in perfect unison.

When we part, Susie sighs contentedly. She looks as though twenty iron blocks were slowly being lifted off her shoulders. For the first time since I've entered, she leans forward to me and whispers into my ear:

"I love you."

Somehow, even though I've heard people around me say it practically all day, those words reverberate inside my heart, sending sparks through my body. Susie looked SO much better than when I found her today. She actually had her smile back. Not a forced one that made her look like she'd forgotten how, but a real one, a true, deep hearted, caring smile.

I feel myself slowly drifting off. I'm in a safe place. Finally.

I muster enough strength to wrap my arms around her loosely, and try to whisper back to her.

"I love you too, Susie…" I think I managed. By the time I said 'you,' I simply wasn't awake to hear it.

…

 _Minutes later…_

I slowly open my eyes to be staring at Vivianna's face.

She's gently smiling down at me, my head once again in her lap.

I look up a little. Aira is nowhere in sight.

I open my mouth to say something, but Vivianna beats me to it. "Hush, now. We're alone again, Cameron."

Slowly, she allows me to sit up. I turn to face her.

"What do you mean…?" I start to ask.

"Aira and I agreed that to let me see you tonight, then her only tomorrow." Vivianna gently explained. "We felt that seeing both of us maybe overwhelms you sometimes to please both of us at the same time."

My face burns slightly. "O-oh."

"Not that it's a bad thing!" Vivianna quickly adds on. "Just… we felt that maybe some time apart would be good today. A change of pace, if that makes sense?"

I nodded.

"You seem awfully quiet tonight, Cameron, and you just got here." Vivianna mused. "Is something the matter?"

I blinked, realizing that I was simply staring into space. "U-uh, no, no, I'm okay. I promise."

Vivianna looks at me. She knows I'm lying. I'm bad at that.

Truth is, I'm worried about… well, a lot of things. Diana and Silk, Susie's condition, what remains of the S&S, and… and…

That… that man… Herobrine, I think was his name…

That man had sent more chills down my spine than anything else ever has. You know that old saying of someone walking on your grave gives you chills? Well, it felt like he was doing that times a hundred, like hundreds of him were walking on my grave all at once.

I shivered, and not out of cold. Vivianna saw this, and knew exactly what I was thinking about. She was, after all, able to read my thoughts.

Gently, tenderly even, she put her hand on my face and made me look into her eyes. "Hey, hey… I watched that too. I know you didn't hallucinate. And… I think that's why Aira and I weren't able to help. When he appeared before you, I… I felt so much power radiating off of him."

Vivianna glanced downwards. "I wish I could've done something to help you. All I did was stand there, frozen in place. It was like someone was throwing me in an ice block: Nothing you can do but stay still and watch."

I thought a little about this Herobrine character. Who is he, really? And what did he mean by, 'final hurdle for his plans?' I'm nothing special. I have special powers only because of Vivianna and Aira.

And, biggest question of them all… why didn't he just end me then? Clearly he was working for Old Bones before, there was no mistaking that voice from behind the painting. But he decided, while I was confused and scared no less, to simply… help me. He helped me get home. He had all the opportunity to feed me false directions, not help me, or simply gut me like a fish. That's clearly something he wanted to do.

A jolt of electricity ran through me, so much that if I wasn't sitting I would've fallen over. What if he was the one that fed me that dark potion, the one that made me meet Vivianna in the first place? What if he was the one that originally sent Aira on me?

'That would make a lot of sense about why Aria was so afraid of admitting defeat before…' I thought slowly. "And how he knew how to even make that potion in the first place.

In the back of my mind, I knew that that last meeting was not the last I'd be seeing of Herobrine. Something tells me that I'm heading for something that I'm not entirely sure I want to be a part of.

Vivianna looks down at me, seeing my look of fear and confusion. Can she blame me?

She gently pulls herself closer to me, gently humming. Her humming slowly washed away all the memories of Herobrine, instead making me focus on other things: a calm ocean, a bubbling oasis, the sound of a stream running through a forest.

I knew that I would eventually refocus on those things sooner or later. Heck, I doubted I could keep this away from Susie for very long, if at all. But for right now, I didn't want to think about Herobrine or facilities or horror. I just wanted to focus on the good things: My house. My friends. My FAMILY, more like it.

Vivianna's humming soon reaches the end. The memories slowly recede, like an ocean's tide. "Do you feel better now?" she asks me, offering me a small smile.

I lightly chuckle. "Yes… thank you, Vivianna…" I murmur, sinking deeper into our light embrace.

She holds me warmly against her smooth body, filling me with a sense of content. I can hear the faint sound of waves gently crashing against a surf. Her soft, delicate breathing, her almost mind-numbing warmth seeping into my bones like a hot bath…

I almost never moved. I wanted to be surrounded in this kind of comfort, this kind of safety, for as long as I lived.

The scenery slowly fades away from around us. Suddenly, I find myself at the bottom of an ocean. I could see the surface far, far above us. The water swirls around us, dark and fast. I wouldn't have been able to see anything, but from the ground three small blocks rise from the surface, illuminating the area around us brightly. Sea lanterns, I realize.

Vivianna doesn't even bat an eye. Her hug becomes a little warmer in contrast to the cold around us. She hugs me a little tighter.

I feel myself slowly leaning backwards. Vivianna follows after me. Not long after, I'm on my back. Vivianna is over me, gently staring into my eyes, her arms wrapped warmly around me. The ocean around us is still swirling a fair amount, but at that moment it was the farthest thing in our minds.

She leans down and kisses me deeply, practically laying on top of me. I did what I could, but it seemed like Vivianna became filled with some sort of immense desire, and had little to no control over her actions.

She pulls away after a good long time passes, both of us gasping heavily. She still stays firmly on top of me, squashing me gently into the small patch of sand we lay on.

"Cameron…" she breathed, her hair swaying with the currents still swishing around us. It only made her look even prettier in the soft glow of the lanterns, almost like moonlight.

I felt like I was simply savoring her warmth, slowly sinking into the sand below me. We did nothing but exchange sweet words and kisses together at the bottom of the ocean.

I almost wish I could've stayed longer, but eventually I felt a familiar feeling in my gut: my real body was starting to wake up.

Vivianna looks nearly devastated, but she understands. She gives me one last short kiss, then whispers to me, "Good-bye, my love. I'll see soon…"

Slowly, I close my eyes…

…

 _Minutes later…_

Soon enough I'm back in the real world. I glance over to my right. Susie is still tightly clinging to my arm, her face so peaceful it would be a crime to wake her up.

I carefully, very carefully, I wormed my arm out of her grip and kissed her cheek softly. She moans happily in approval.

I got out of bed, quickly took a quiet shower and threw on some clothes, and headed out the door.

No sounds were being made throughout the entire house. I must've been first up once more.

I started to wonder what was going on upstairs with Snowy and Andr. My guess was that they cuddled each other to sleep most likely. I already knew all about how much they liked each other, but it wasn't something we actively discussed.

Now that I thought about it, I wondered if they were up yet. Maybe they wanted something different for breakfast today. Surely they wanted something other than eggs and bacon?

I quietly hiked up the stairs, making as little noise as possible. It wasn't easy, considering most of those stairs gave off a small _creeeeak!_ noise every time you touch it, but I knew how to keep them quiet.

I passed by Snowy's empty room and Diana-Silk's guest room. Once I got to Andr's door I tried to peek in through the door, which was open a crack, but that bore no fruit.

Usually you could hear a light snore from Snowy or some soft sleep-talking from Andr. I heard that, but it seemed a little… softer than normal.

I reached for the door, and quickly realized that it was open a crack. I pushed the door open to see if they were up.

They were still fast asleep, holding each other with blissful expressions on their faces. Snowy was gently sighing happily in addition to her light, adorable snores, and Andr was sleep-talking, but it was a lot easier to make out than normal. Something along the lines of, "That's right, Puppy… you're so cute, Puppy… I'm happy too, Puppy…"

I quietly snickered. Even in their sleep, they still were completely adorable together.

I closed the door fully as I left, and started to make my way back downstairs.

As I passed Diana-Silk's door, I couldn't help but press my ear to it, to see if they were up yet.

Oddly… I couldn't hear anything.

I knocked gently on their door. No response.

I knocked a little harder. Nothing.

I slowly turned the handle of the door, knocking. Silence.

'They must still be asleep then…' I thought, opening the door and poking my head in.

My eyes widened.

Oh.

Well.

They…

They are most certainly NOT still asleep.

Well, at least not Diana.

Diana was sitting on her bed, wearing…

*cough*

A rather… _revealing…_ outfit.

To be specific… her under-garments.

How she even wore them normally was a mild miracle. But now they were clearly out, free for the world to see.

And, let me just say… they were a _little_ too small for her. And too tight.

She hadn't noticed me yet. She was busy looking down the shaft of an arrow, I guess inspecting it for damage.

She was muttering very, VERY lightly to herself, something I couldn't quite make out.

All at once, my face flushed beetroot red, and my eyes became the size of dinner plates.

'O-oh… I… I think I should… go…' I started to weakly think, my brain not all there. But before I could make another move…

She turned her arrow up to look down it a little better…

And then saw me, staring at her.

Next thing I knew, SHE became beetroot red, and the arrow hit the floor.

For nearly ten seconds we could do nothing but stare at each other in embarrassment.

Then, throwing quiet to the wind, I said, "Ummm… I-I-I'll… I'll just… g-g-go…"

I nearly slammed the door closed, very nearly collapsing in sheer embarrassment. There was a rushing sound coming from the bedroom, indicating that Diana was throwing an outfit faster than Snowy eating bacon.

When the noise died down, I, very, very cautiously, knocked on the door again. This time, Diana's voice weakly came to me, "C-come in…"

I opened the door to a 'clothed' Diana (Honestly, her outfit is a few stitches short of a shirt, you know?). Her face was still red.

I had a million things I wanted to say in that moment, but I couldn't make my voice work. Unfortunaly, Diana started for me.

"C-Cameron!" she lightly yelling at me, knowing Silk was still asleep. "W-w-why did you just… walk in on me!"

"I-I-I kn-knocked…" I stammered. "N-nobody answered…"

Another silence filled the air. In a last ditch attempt to get out of their, I cleared my throat and quickly asked, "I-I'm going to make breakfast soon, how'd you like your eggs…?"

My feet were already taking me out the door. By the time I heard, "Sunny-side," I was already halfway down the stairs.

I collapsed into a chair, mopping up my forehead with a spare dishtowel. I already knew that no matter how hard I could try, that image was going to stay with me for as long as I lived.

Why in Notch's holy name didn't Diana answer? I clearly knocked on the door. Multiple times! She should've at least heard one.

I stayed sitting down for a little while, until I heard more movement upstairs. 'Breakfast time.' I thought, heading for behind the kitchen counter.

Within five minutes, pancakes and bacon were sizzling on the counter, eggs right behind them. But above the noises of breakfast… I heard someone walking down the stairs.

I, in all honesty, PRAYED that it was Snowy, Andr, or even Silk. ANYONE but Diana after that mess.

Fate clearly had other plans.

Diana came down. I busied myself by pretending to checking if the pancakes were done. The last thing I wanted was to start an awkward conversation about… what I had seen.

Diana didn't seem too keen to start talking about it either. She pulled up a seat to the counter and sat there, just… not saying anything. Just watching me.

I silently slid her a plate of food. She just started picking at it while I got back to cooking the rest of the food.

Then, out of nowhere, she speaks up.

"I… I'm sorry."

I glance back at her. Her head is hanging a little, and she looks more ashamed than embarrassed. Her food was pushed off away to the side.

"...I'm sorry…?" I asked, confused. What was she apologizing for?

"I'm sorry that… I snapped at you back there." she managed. She avoided my gaze at all costs. "That… that was very rude of me."

"I should be the one apologizing, Diana." I countered. "I was, after all, the one who walked in on you like that."

Diana didn't say anything else, but she did scoot her plate back over to herself and start to nibble at her toast.

At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Susie stepped out, looking refreshed. She slid into an open chair next to Diana and smiled warmly at me, saying, "Good morning Cameron. Good morning Diana."

"Morning, Susie." I greeted back, sliding her some food (Diana said nothing.), "Food is served."

She started digging in wholeheartedly. The way she did it, though, kinda made me do a double take. It wasn't like she wolfed it down like she had never ate anything in her life before, but… well, she definitely was eating at a faster pace than normal.

'Did she… not eat as much while I was gone?' I thought to myself, idly buttering toast. 'Or was she just really hungry?'

Regardless of whatever the answer really was, those thoughts were driven out of my head when Snowy and Andr wandered downstairs soon after the thought, bidding me, Susie, and Diana a warm greeting. They quickly pulled the armchairs over to sit in them, rather than taking counter seats.

Eventually, Silk wandered downstairs. Her hair was slightly sticking up in a place, and her shirt seemed to be on backwards. "Mornin'." she murmured to everyone, quickly taking an open seat on the other side of Diana.

Everyone but Diana said something in greeting. Silk glanced at her, but said nothing otherwise. She sat down and took the plate I slid her.

We all ate in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, just no one felt like talking. We cleaned up and started to head our separate ways.

I myself was just about to grab a book I was part-way in when Diana tugged on my shirt sleeve.

"I need your help." she said. "I need to tell you about… a nightmare I had."

I paused. Nightmares were something I understood extremely well. I followed her up to her bedroom. Silk was off doing Notch-knows-what, so it was just us.

Once Diana was sure she locked the door and closed the blinds, she turned to me and said, "I… I need to make sure that whatever we say in here STAYS here, okay? I need to trust you."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "If this is about this morning, then-"

"No, I thought we were past that!" Diana huffed, looking very concerned.

I sighed. "Then what is it?"

"I… I had a dream last night that… well, it involved… a strange character. A man. But… I only remember one thing about him." Diana explained, glancing around.

"What's that?" I asked, intrigued.

"I-I… I only remember his… glowing, white eyes."

* * *

 **Oh boy, more Herobrine nonsense!**

 **Okay, I promise this is going somewhere. I know that it just seems like I'm tossing Herobrine in here just because he's an easy guy to play as a bad guy, but trust me, I'm working on an actual reason for WHY he's in my story.**

 **Oh, and also, PLEASEDONTKILLME.**

 **Like I said, I have no excuse for why I didn't upload sooner other than the incredibly lame excuse, 'I was busy.'**

 **Well… now that I think about it, I do. I wasn't able to get on my laptop at all to type for weeks, maybe even a month. So I literally had this chapter and the ones for my other stories gathering dust while I could do nothing but sit there and take it.**

 **I'm not wanting to explain what happened, but you guys are smart enough to think of a reason. Just know that I wasn't able to even touch my laptop for weeks.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all did enjoy this chapter, late as it may be. I promise I'll update sometime sooner this summer. I have all the time in the world pretty much, so I can't say I was busy unless I get a new job, right?**

 **Until next time guys, this is ButterHunter, and I'll see you next time. Stay awesome!**


	41. An Argument

**Heya hey, how's it going my dear readers? It's me, ButterHunter here, back with another installment to my story.**

 **Now, before we begin, I felt that I should address something.**

 **I have recently read a guest review on this story, regarding some plot holes that he/she/they found and brought to my attention. Since several of these holes were never fully addressed in story, I figured I'd go ahead and try to fill some of them myself.**

 **Rule 1: Unless otherwise stated, always assume that the characters have had at the very least a decent level of personal hygiene available to them. Usually this means that they did the morning rituals once they woke up, (shower, dressing, teeth, etc.) and the evening rituals before bed (teeth again, clean up, changing, etc.).**

 **Rule 2: There are going to be birthdays, I promise. I know this timeline has been rather confusing (and probably falls apart if you look at it too hard). But I also know for a fact that the birthday's of all the characters currently in the story have either not had their birthday just yet, or have already had it before they were introduced into the story (or they're a side character and don't offer much to the overall plot, so they probably won't have a birthday mentioned outright). I promise, I'll get some birthday's in soon. Currently, the closest birthday that is going to happen is my own. (Probably…)**

 **And Rule 3: This should kinda go without saying, but when a new character enters the scene, I'll try to mainly focus on them for at least a few chapters. Diana and Silk are the exceptions at the moment, however, as they have been in the S &S Corps chapters, and only now are they at Cameron's home, so they'll be the focus for a few more chapters. You know, until we get some romance rolling.**

 **Well, I hope that fills in some of the plot holes. Now, enough stalling, let's get to the story!**

* * *

Chapter 41: An Argument

The air seemed to drop ten degrees at her words.

I felt my face pale a little. There was no mistaking about who she was talking about.

Herobrine.

No matter how I thought of that name, it sent goosebumps down my spine.

Diana hadn't seemed to notice my paling face. "He… he said… that Silk and I… we'd never find… safety from him. That… he'd find us. And… hurt us."

Silence.

"B-but… that's stupid, right? I mean, it was just a nightmare, and I've been really, you know, nervous since you let us stay, so… I guess I just imagined him. Right?"

Diana's face was looking at me for confirmation. I looked at her face, and suddenly my mind and mouth went on autopilot.

"Yeah… that's a weird dream." I agreed.

I instantly regretted the lie. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from her, let alone anyone, but I just couldn't help it. That Herobrine guy honestly scared me. I didn't want anyone else to get totally freaked out by him. Not yet, anyway.

Diana nodded to herself, seemingly reassured. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. I'm just being paranoid."

Suddenly, in a move that surprised me and her, suddenly I found myself getting hugged by her. "Thank you…" Diana softly whispers to me.

More guilt started building up inside of me. But it was far too late to turn back now. I had chosen this path. I had to follow it, wherever it lead.

Diana hugged me for a good five minutes, savoring my warmth. I was still in a little bit of shock from Diana's dream.

'Whatever… _that_ means… it can't be anything good.

When she finally did part from me, I excused myself from the room. I knew I needed to tell someone. Someone I knew I could trust. Someone I knew would keep a secret. Someone not from here.

And then it hit me: _Zach._

He was always the tougher one when we were young. He was always stronger, more street smart, in a sense. Surely he'd be able to give me SOME idea.

I found Susie in the bedroom, brushing Snowy's hair. I told the two I was gonna take a trip to Blockington, talk to my sister.

Both of them seemed upset, but for different reasons. Snowy was rather upset when I said I wanted to go alone this time. Susie was upset because she didn't want to sent me off, not after just getting me back anyway.

But I was persistent, and after a few minutes, they reluctantly agreed. The agreement was that if I stayed any longer than sunset, Snowy was allowed to find me and drag me home, and I wouldn't be allowed to leave for the rest of the month.

We made my leave a quiet one, to not attract undue attention from Diana and Silk. I gathered my things and climbed out the bedroom window, and darted into the forest a little to hide my presence.

Once far enough away, I started making the trek to Blockington. I was just about to call on Aira for some flight powers, when…

I heard something. Or rather, I _felt_ something wrong. Something wasn't right.

I drew my sword, calling out, "Who's there?"

A random apple fell from a nearby tree. I looked upwards. Apples don't just fall out of trees unless they were forced to.

Nothing happened…

I was just about to put my sword away when I heard more rustling. Now more alert, I could definitely place the sound as above me, on the treetops.

"Show yourself!" I yelled up there.

Suddenly, the sound of something falling through the trees came to my ears, followed by a yell.

And before I knew it, Silk fell at my feet, dazed.

"Silk?! What the hell?!" I cursed, hoisting her to her feet.

"I could say the same thing to you." Silk threw back. "Where are you going at ten in the morning?"

I sighed. "Away. I'm meeting someone. Now, can I please go?"

"Hold on, hold on!" Silk denied, glaring at me. "That's not enough. In case you haven't noticed, I still don't trust you. So how do I know that you aren't leaving to do something idiotic?"

I breathed deeply. "Since when did you care what I do and don't do? And besides, you don't control me anymore. Technically, I do now, since I let you live with us for now."

I had clearly hit a nerve. Silk suddenly started breathing a little heavier, and her eyes became a lot fiercer. "And despite that, you STILL think that gives you some sort of superiority over me."

I was done talking. Every second I spent standing there was one more second of wasted daylight. I wanted to just go there, talk to Zach, and get home. Silk was wasting my time.

I turned around and continued on my way. Silk yelled at me, "Hey! I'm not done with you!"

"I'm going to be late the longer you stall me." I shouted back. "I'll see you later."

"Woah woah woah!" Silk yelled, running after me. "You're not walking away from me!"

I ignored her. I continued on my way, ignoring Silk's attempts to get information out of me.

"You are not the one who's gonna walk away first!" Silk complained to me. "You'd better stop and listen to me, you idiot! I'm not going away until you tell me EXACTLY where you're going!"

I started to grow a little nervous. If Silk actually knew where I was going… I don't think she'd be too happy.

"Look, I'm just going to-" I started to explain.

"Wait… wait a moment." Silk interrupted, looking like she was drawing things in air. "If we were there… and you're going that way… then you might be…"

Her eyes widened. "Are you… going to Blockington…?"

I paused for a moment. I had to think. Either I lie, and hope that gets her away from me, or tell the truth, and hope that she doesn't do anything crazy.

I decided to just be straight with her. She'd see through my lies anyway.

"Ye… Yeah. I am. I… have friends there." I admitted, sighing.

The color drained from Silk's face. I quickly added, "And no, I'm not going there to rat us out or anything, because I might take a hit if I do anyway."

She didn't look any more reassured. "Are you crazy?! They'll recognize you! You were there, being a guard, and then all of the sudden you disappeared? They'll KNOW you were a part of our heist!"

"No they won't. They know me. Besides, what proof do they have that I disappeared? Sure, I suddenly was gone, but for all they knew I left before the heist even happened." I told her.

"STILL! That doesn't mean it's safe to go just a few days after it happened!" Silk countered.

"Look, I'll be careful, okay? If anyone asks, I know nothing about a heist, or crown, or anything, okay? And if someone asks where I went, then I'll just say I left because I remembered something important I had to do." I offered, turning back to the way to the city.

"Nononono, I'm not letting you go!" Silk denied, grabbing me by the arm and leaning back. "No one can know about this other than the people at your house! You're coming back with me!"

She tried to drag me back home by the arm, but I was a lot stronger than her. I resisted, so she ended up just digging her feet into the ground.

After a solid minute, she stopped for a breather, then tried again. I sighed. "Silk… you aren't gonna win. You have to realize that."

She gave up, panting heavily. "I… I can't… let you… go…" she insisted.

I looked at her, shaking my head. "Look… this is really, REALLY important for me, okay?" I explained slowly. "I need to go, and fast."

I started heading towards the city again. For a moment, Silk just watched me.

Then I heard footsteps approaching me fast from behind. I didn't even turn as I called back, "If you still think you can deter me, then-"

"I'm coming with you." she interrupted.

I stopped in my tracks, and about-faced to the spider girl. "Oh, no you are not."

"Yes, I am, and you won't sway me otherwise." Silk insisted. "I… I'm not gonna just sit back and pray that you don't ruin everything."

I gave an exasperated sigh. "I TOLD you, I'm not gonna mess this up. I'm just meeting a friend."

"And now, I'm gonna meet your friend too." Silk added. When I opened my mouth to continue arguing, she tagged on, "And the longer you try to fight it, the less time you have to get there will be. Now, are we going or not?"

I balled up my fists and growled on the inside. She had a point. The longer I tried to convince her to leave me alone, the longer I lost precious time.

"..." I remained quiet.

"Besides, I can hide myself just fine." she told me. She reached into a pocket behind her or something and pulled out a rather long hooded cape. It was almost exactly like Snowy's, except this one was tightly woven out of spider silk.

"See? I put this on…" she started, throwing the hood on. "I'm basically hidden.

She definitely had another point there. I was getting a little annoyed of that.

"..." I remained quiet.

"C'mon, dude." Silk insisted, looking at me expectantly. "I won't bother you while we're there, I promise."

I sighed one more time, turned, and then murmured, "Fine."

"Thank you." Silk breathed slowly.

"BUT!" I added on, turning back towards the spider girl. "You are going to listen and do EXACTLY what I say. Okay? If I tell you to grab something, you grab it. If I tell you to follow me, you follow. If I tell you to run home as fast as you possibly can, you will do just that. Understand?"

Silk glared at me, but slowly nodded. Mutual understanding.

I sighed, then started back on the path. "C'mon. Let's go, we're burnin' daylight."

The next half an hour was spent in silence as we slowly walked to Blockington. I couldn't help but hear that little voice in the back of my head, repeating that something would go wrong now that Silk was in the picture. Someone would find her suspicious, someone would recognize me, someone would put two and two together and figure out our connection…

I shook my head just as we started to climb the last hill before the city was thrown into view. I hadn't noticed it last time I was here, since it had been the middle of the night and I was too focused on the plan, but the city had expanded quite a bit towards the west, and the walls seemed to have been raised a few blocks. And unless my eyes were tricking me, I could swear that a massive building was being built in the new expansion, almost castle-like in grandeur.

Silk seemed taken back by the size of the place too. "W-wow… and here I thought S&S was big." she managed, her eyes wide.

We approached the main gates. As always, guards stopped us, but this time, something was different.

"Ah, "travele- er, Cameron." one guard said. "A word, please."

Red banners started popping up in my head. The outside guards almost NEVER called me by name. ALWAYS by something simple, like 'traveler,' or 'adventurer.' Was my plan doomed from the start?

The guard took me a little ways from the gate, then murmured. "I was told by the guard captain that you disappeared a few nights ago, and he doesn't remember seeing you then. Did something happen?"

My shoulders relaxed. "Oh, yeah, I remembered something important I had to do outside of the city. I would've said something, but I just hadn't had the opportunity."

The guard nodded. "Okay. Thank you. All I needed to know. I'll let you and your little friend in."

I nodded back. The guard opened the gates and me and Silk entered the city.

The city was just as bustling as I remembered it to be. In fact, it seemed even busier than before, perhaps due to the construction going on at that giant building.

Silk tapped on my back. "By the way… who are we meeting? You never said anything about who that was…"

"Well… now that we're here, I wanna meet two people." I admitted. It had been a while since I had last seen my sister. As the only related family I had left, I had to be sure she was still fine. "The first is close by, just follow me."

Silk trailed behind me, though she seemed quite interested in looking around the entire city. I guess this is the first time she's ever peacefully entered a human settlement, especially one this big and unique.

We quickly made our way to 'GI's Tools and Weapon Repairs.' The shop had gotten an upgrade a while back, making it a little bit bigger, and an even larger blacksmith area in the back.

Jerry, the usual cashier here, instantly knew who I was the moment we walked in and wasn't even fazed when I asked to see my friend. He waved us to the back, only pausing for a moment to take a second look at Silk.

I lead Silk to the back and knocked on the blacksmith door.

It only took a moment for Zach to open the door. He smirked when he saw me. "Hey man. How's it going?"

"Not bad. Can we come in?" I asked. Zach looked behind me at Silk. His eyes… did they shrink for a moment?

"Yeah, sure. Come on in…" he agreed, opening the door. Something about his tone made me a little… concerned.

Silk started looking around curiously at the entire blacksmith shop. Before I could do anything though, Zach pulled me off to the side. "Uhh… bro?" he asked, looking at me expectantly. "Who's the new girl? That's not Snowy."

I paused for half a second, before responding, "Just… she's just a friend of mine. I met her a few days ago."

Zach studied my face carefully. If my eyes were seeing things right, his eyes seemed the slightest bit… fearful.

He nodded, casting one last glance over at Silk. "Well… I'll take your word for it." he decided. The look in his eyes was definitely a little… less confident than I remembered.

"Anyway…" I emphasized, quickly changing the subject. "Where's Blake?"

"Oh yeah. She's out on an errand right now." Zach explained. "She should be coming home soon."

I nodded, turning back to Silk. She seemed very fascinated by all the tools and ores littering around the blacksmith area.

I approached her as she turned to me. "Wow… this place is very… interesting."

"What do you mean by that?" Zach asked, his eyes glaring at her a small bit.

"It's… well, I don't see many blacksmiths this big." Silk explained. "The one I've last seen wasn't even half this size."

Zach nodded. "I guess that's true. This is the largest blacksmith I've ever been able to own. If demand keeps up, I might have to hire extra workers here."

I nodded, distracted. "Right… uh, Zach? Can I, like, talk with you? In private?"

Zach saw my serious face and knew I wasn't messing around. "Yeah, of course. Follow me." he agreed, heading for the back of the smithy, where a ladder had been installed.

"Stay here, okay? Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." I instructed Silk. She glared at me, but didn't argue.

I climbed up the ladder after Zach and was greeted with what must've been his room. Giant bookshelves lined part of the walls, as did several decorative plants. A painting or two of nothing in particular hung on the back wall. A large double bed had been set up, and next to that was a second smaller desk with several items littered on it, mostly books and papers. Nearby, two armchairs and a small table with a few more books were tucked into the nearby corner, and the small kitchen was next to that. The windows were open, with some potted flowers on the window sill. The breeze was coming in much stronger than it was downstairs. The whole room really just felt… cozy.

Zach sat down in his comfy chair and gestured for me to take the other. "So… what's this about?" he asked, getting right to business.

I took a deep breath before saying, "I've been seeing things."

"Seeing things?" Zach asked.

"Yes." I agreed. "Well, more like seeing something in particular."

"That's basically the same thing." he told me.

"Whatever. The point is, I didn't know who to talk to about this, so I had to talk to you. You've been a lot more than I probably have, and is, dare I say, a little bit tougher than me."

Zach snorted. "That's an understatement. You used to be the wimpiest kid ever, and you even knew it then."

I nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, but… this is something that I need to make sure… you will NEVER tell anyone. Okay? Never tell anyone else about this. I need your trust."

"Geez, how bad can it be? I swear I won't tell anyone." he promised.

"No, I need your ULTIMATE swear. Like, you swear on your LIFE. And you have to be serious." I insisted.

"I swear on my life, on Notch's holy name, that I will never tell a single living soul what you are about to tell me." he promised, holding a hand over his heart.

I took a deep breath. "Okay… I… this is gonna sound very, very strange, but… I've been seeing-"

Suddenly, before I could finish my thought, a loud crashing sound came from downstairs, followed by what was unmistakably Silk's voice yelling at someone.

I bolted for the ladder, Zach right behind me.

Silk was standing before none other than Blake. Blake was hissing loudly, saying, "Get out before I MAKE you get out, you creepy crawler!"

"Like I'd listen to a random CAT!" Silk yelled back, string prepped in her hands, her cape long discarded.

"HANG ON!" I shouted, standing between the two. "What's going on here?!"

"You?!" Blake shouted. "YOU brought her here? The wolf wasn't good enough for you?"

"Her name is Snowy, and for the record, I didn't WANT to bring Silk here with me, did I?" I asked, glancing back. Silk angrily nodded, never breaking eye contact with Blake.

"Oh, how perfect. Another person hiding in Blockington." Blake moaned, her fists balled. "Zach! Do something!"

Zach, who I hadn't realized hadn't moved once he came down the ladder, stood frozen, staring at Silk. "Sh-sh-she's… a… a… sp-spider…?" he stammered, visibly paling.

That's when I remembered: Zach had a strong fear of spiders ever since he was a little kid, when one crawled into his room through his window somehow. It never attacked, and it ran away before it could get exterminated, but Zach was still traumatized. Wouldn't you?

"Zach, listen." I quickly, and calmly, interrupted. "She's not gonna hurt you. She won't hurt Blake either. So how about we ALL just calm down a little, and NOT go ballistic today, okay?"

"I've put up with a lot, human." Blake hissed at me. "I've put up with this city, I've put up with you, I've even put up with that wolf. But I'm NOT letting this go this time. Now, you both should leave. NOW."

Blake and Silk were at a deadly stand-off. It was impossible to tell who could be more dangerous.

Zach wasn't doing anything. He was just staring right at Silk, almost like she'd jump at him at any second.

Clearly if I didn't want an altercation on my hands, I'd need to step in, somehow.

Then I thought about it. How could Zach actually help me with this problem? Unless he's seen Herobrine himself, and I have no doubt that he's never even heard of that name, he can't place a face to that. Not to mention, even if he HAS heard of him, what can we do? Herobrine never lingers in one place for long, that I can tell. And the guy… he's clearly dangerous. Combine that with the idea that I'm just a very vulnerable human with almost no armor on at the moment and, well… it makes you feel a little powerless.

I sighed defeatedly. "Fine. Zach, we'll talk later. Silk, let's go."

Both Silk and Blake looked very surprised at me. "What?" Blake asked.

"I don't have time to stand here and argue with you." I explained. "So, I think we should just leave now before things go sour. Clearly you don't even want Silk here, so you shouldn't be complaining."

Without another word from either Blake or Zach, I grabbed Silk by the wrist, threw her hood back on her, and dragged her out the door and back into the heart of the city.

Once we were safely in a deserted alley, Silk finally got her voice back. "Cameron… what was that?"

I sighed. "What I thought could help me just turned out to be a complete bust. Anyway, while I'm here I might as well visit my sister. She hasn't seen me in quite some time."

Silk didn't say anything, but she followed behind me at a noticeably slower pace than before.

My sister was in fact home at the time. We spent a little while catching up, but she mostly seemed interested in Silk more than anything else. While we didn't really discuss Silk being a spider, I could tell that my sister could partly tell. Somewhat, at least.

Eventually, we left. Silk seemed to be in slightly brighter spirits after meeting my sister, but she still seemed noticeably subdued than normal.

We made it to the city gates and headed out, starting to head for home. But just as we made it over the first hills and were well out of earshot from anyone at Blockington, I turned to Silk and instructed, "Spill."

Silk was taking off guard. "Wha-?"

"I've been around you for too long now to understand you, Silk. You're NEVER this quiet around me. Something's wrong. Spill." I explained.

Silk suddenly became very fascinated by something invisible at her feet, and didn't answer.

"Silk." I intoned, this time a little more forcefully than I would normally.

"Grr…. FINE!" she shouted, glaring at me. "I'm quiet because I was trying to understand why you pulled me away like that, okay? I was standing up for myself, then all the sudden YOU make me back down!"

"Because I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" I yelled back.

"She was clearly asking for it!" Silk argued back. "She was all ready to go too, you know it!"

"Yeah, I know it, I've already met the woman!" I angrily explained. "Look, you can't just get mad at EVERYONE you meet, okay? THIS is why I didn't want you to come!"

"Why? Because you think that I'm always gonna mess up your grand ideas? Huh? Is that it?" Silk asked mockingly.

"AUGH!" I shouted loudly, turning back towards the house. Silk ran after me and we argued the entire way back.

Once we arrived home, I opened the much louder than I would normally and called out gruffly, "I'm back."

Susie, Snowy, and Diana were all in the kitchen, and seemingly were in conversation when I burst in. "Cameron? Did… did something happen?"

"Yeah. SHE happened." I agreed, angrily gesturing at Silk. "Have her explain, because I don't have the time and patience to explain anything right now."

Leaving behind a very quiet trio and a very furious Silk, I stomped into the bedroom and slammed the door behind me, throwing my bag to the side and flopping onto the bed, trying to blow off a lot of steam.

I felt my blood boiling a little bit. Silk was just SO hard-headed… she messed up everything! If she hadn't come with me, then I would've talked to Zach about Herobrine, and then maybe I would've gotten something out of it. But NOOO, since she just HAD to come with me, she got into a conflict with Blake, and she ruined my chance.

I so badly wanted to punch something, but I didn't. I didn't want to break anything.

Three minutes after I entered, a knock quietly sounded from the door, and it slowly opened. Snowy poked her head inside, timidly asking, "Umm… Master…? Are…?"

"Hm? Oh. Hey Snowy." I gruffly greeted. I was still hot-blooded after all that had happened.

"I'm… not alone." she slowly stated, opening the door the rest of the way. Susie came in behind her, both of them with identical looks of concern.

"Ah… Cameron…?" Susie gently, very gently, asked. I looked up. "Umm… are you… okay…?"

"No, I'm not." I stated.

Apparently they had expected more. They blinked at my very short remark.

Snowy slowly sat down next to me and tried to hug me.

I sighed, gently pushing her away. "I appreciate the concern guys, I really do, but I just want to be alone right now, let this steam blow off, okay?"

"Cameron…" Susie slowly sighed, staring sadly at me.

"Master…" Snowy equally sighed, tears in the pits of her eyes.

They didn't make any motion to leave the room. Rather, they each took a side and sat down next to me.

"Please, Cameron… you have to tell us what's going on." Susie pleaded, making me look at her. "Silk's not here, she's upstairs. You can talk to us."

I slowly let out a very long, slightly annoyed breath. I knew they wouldn't leave until I was at the very least feeling better. "Okay… okay, fine. I'll tell."

I launched into the story about how Silk forced me to have her tag along after she found I was heading to Blockington, how I was just talking to Zach, trying to see how he was doing (I purposely left out Herobrine, for now.), and then about how Silk and Blake had launched into this huge confrontation, almost coming to blows, before I pulled Silk away.

"...and once we left my sister and we were heading home, that's when the argument started." I finished. I actually did feel a little calmer after explaining what happened, but I was still ticked off. "I was just trying to make sure no one got hurt, but she thinks that I just made her look weak in front of two people, and-"

"Calm! Calm down…!" Susie intoned, gently shaking me.

I took another breather. "Right… right."

"Did you actually tell Silk that you were trying to stop a fight from happening?" Susie asked.

"Well of course I did! I said that I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" I recounted indignantly.

"Calm! Calm!" Susie reminded me.

Another deep breath. A few seconds pause.

"Okay… here's what we'll do." Susie offered, standing up. "How about… we give you space. Rest of today, you'll get to blow off whatever steam you have. Then, tomorrow, when everyone's calmed down, we try and see if we can get you and Silk to work out whatever problems you're having, okay?"

I slowly sighed. "Susie, I-"

"Are you okay with that?" Susie, rather forcefully, asked again.

I blinked. "I… yes."

Susie relaxed. "Okay. We'll give you some space then. Snowy, come on."

Snowy, who had been incredibly quiet for that whole time, slowly got up and walked with Susie.

Just before they got to the door, though, I called out to them, "Susie? Snowy?"

They turned.

"I… *sigh*... thank you, both. I… do feel a little calmer now." I thanked them.

Their looks softened at me. "You don't have to thank us, Cameron." Susie intoned to me, before leaving.

Snowy glanced at me one more time, ran back to give me one more hug, and then left.

And then there was one.

The rest of the day passed very uneventfully. I simply stayed there, in the bedroom, simply letting myself cool off and unwind.

Susie, bless her heart, brought me a plate of food for dinner. She offered to save me a spot at the counter, seeing as Silk was staying upstairs, but I politely declined. I didn't need everyone there worrying about me anymore they they already were.

Eventually, night came. Susie soon came in, asking if I wanted to be alone for the night, too.

I gently chuckled. "I'm a lot better now, Susie, but I'll be better if you'd be here with me."

Susie smiled at me softly. I think she was secretly hoping for that answer.

The nightly rituals were done, teeth, bathroom, night clothes, all that.

Eventually, it was just me and Susie, together in the soft glow of the moon outside. Snowy had once again taken refuge inside Andr's room, though this time I think it was maybe because she thought I would be better off alone.

Susie almost instantly fell asleep, but I took a little while longer. I wasn't sure why.

Eventually, I did fall asleep. But…

Things were different.

I was brought back to the black space of the dream world, but… Vivianna and Aira weren't there to greet me.

It was just… me.

"Vivianna?" I called out. "Aira? You guys there?"

I turned around in a full circle, trying to see if they were there…

When a distant figure caught my eye.

It looked really, really far away, but I could easily tell that it was Silk. Her back was turned. Her head looked bowed.

I groaned internally. 'Great. Dreams about Silk. Just what I need.'

I tried to call out for Vivianna and Aira again…

When I suddenly realized I couldn't move.

My body suddenly felt frozen in place.

I tried to unfreeze myself at will, but it didn't work.

I almost began to panic. Something was very clearly wrong…

When out of nowhere, in the distance, Silk appeared to move.

Her head slowly rose, then fell again, like she took a deep breath and then sighed.

I squinted to try and see her a little better…

When I blinked.

And suddenly, Silk was closer.

I was getting creeped out by all this. I tried to wake myself up, but I honestly didn't know how to do that.

I blinked again. Silk got closer.

Again. Closer.

The next time I blinked, Silk was within arm's reach if I could move them. Her back was still turned.

Her head raised, then lowered one more time…

And then she quickly and suddenly turned.

Her eyes… they… they were black, empty holes in her face.

She jumped forward at me, suddenly laughing.

I felt her bite me right on the shoulder. Pain ran through me, as though her bite was poisonous.

" _I'lL dO tO yOu JUst whAT i DiD to aLL tHe rESt oF tHEm."_ her voice, magnified and distorted, resonated inside of me.

My face paled. If I could've moved I would've been running as fast as I could away from all this. 'Wh-what is happening-'

Suddenly, in front of me, four humanoid lumps appeared. Each had a bite mark in their shoulder and on their neck, and they looked…

Oh Notch…

They looked just like my friends…

Slowly, one dissolved into a single bone.

Then, another turned into an ender pearl.

Another turned into nothing but dust and a tuft of fur.

The last… the last slowly melted into three slime balls.

Silk started laughing at me demonically, crawling all over my body as I watched in horror. My shoulder started to scream in pain as the bite marks swelled.

Then, more pain rang out on my neck, as Silk bit down HARD. My neck started to swell from the bite, and it became impossible to breath…

I'm… fading…

Silk gets her face in mine as I slowly start to black out…

She's only laughing at me as I slowly fade…

" _wHeRe'S moMMy and dAddY now, hUH?!"_ she taunted, her eyes suddenly glowing bright white…

My vision… fading…

And…

And…

…

And then I opened my eyes.

I was breathing hard, sitting upright in the bed, cold sweat on my entire forehead.

I looked around quickly, panicked. Susie was still next to me, fast asleep. The moon wasn't visible from this angle, but I assumed it was over westward.

I quickly felt my shoulder and neck.

No marks… but it had felt so real…

My breathing almost refused to slow.

Then…

" _C… Cameron…?"_ Vivianna's voice gently came in.

'V… Vivianna…?' I thought. 'What… what in Notch's name was THAT?!'

" _I… I'm so sorry! I normally screen out any nightmares you create, but this one felt important to show you, somehow, so I let it happen! I… I didn't know it would be THAT!"_ Vivianna quickly apologized. " _I-I thought it would just be, you know, something to make you want to apologize to Silk! Not… whatever THAT freak show was!"_

I glanced down at Susie. Still fast asleep.

'Well… I'm definitely not ready to fall back asleep yet…' I thought, slowly getting out of bed. 'Is Aira there?'

I heard an audible nod.

'Ohh kay.' I thought. 'I… I wanna just go to the roof for a while. Cool off in the night air.'

" _Good… good idea… Cameron, I'm really, SO sorry…"_ Vivianna insisted, her voice close to breaking.

'It's… it's okay, Vivianna.' I thought, opening the bedroom window. 'You didn't know. Let's just get up to the roof and calm down a bit.'

One current of air later, and then I was sitting down on the edge of the house again, taking in the summer air.

This wasn't the first time I had come up for a nighttime view. Long ago I placed down torches up on the roof so nothing could appear up here, and then to make it even more comfy, I put down an small, easily-removable bench that anyone that comes up here, mainly just me and Andr, can use.

The air was relatively cooler up here than inside. I still felt a little sweaty from the nightmare.

'Vivianna… can you make sure to give me some sort of warning next time?' I softly asked.

" _O-of course. I… I just acted without thinking. Next time, I'll ask if you wish to see it before I choose."_ Vivianna told me, still sounding a bit upset at herself.

'It's alright, Vivianna. You made an honest mistake.' I insisted.

I continued to stare up at the moon, slowly beginning to relax from the nightmare…

When suddenly, I heard the creaking of wood behind me.

I whipped around. If it was some monster that had somehow managed to appeared up here, then I didn't like my chances in a fight.

But it wasn't a monster. It wasn't even a random cow (yes, that has happened before once, but that's a long story).

It was a very surprised Silk.

For ten seconds we stared at each other, completely surprised to see the other.

"Couldn't sleep?" Silk asked.

"Nightmare." I responded.

Silk grimaced. Nothing else was said.

For maybe half a second, I considered either arguing with her again or simply leaving and trying to go back to bed.

But somewhere in my gut, something told me to stay. Maybe something would come of it.

I scooted over to the side and turned back to the moon. I didn't say anything, partly afraid that if I did say something, I wouldn't like what I said.

Silk was quiet for ten seconds, and then slowly approached the bench and sat down next to me. She didn't say anything.

For five minutes we just sat there. The stars gently twinkled down at us, and the moon shone unusually bright. It would still be a while before night would be over.

Monsters loitered down below, in the plains in front of us, but there was no way they would see us up here. The monsters usually ignore the house this late at night, and they never would have any reason to look up and see people up here.

"This… this is such a beautiful little spot…" Silk murmured softly, looking all around.

"Andr showed it to me a long time ago." I explained. "We come here every now and then to watch the sunset."

Silk thought about that answer. "But wait… how'd you get up here now? You can't teleport… right?"

I chuckled. "No, no, I can't teleport. Andr hasn't taught that to me yet." I said jokingly.

"Then… how'd you get up here…?" Silk asked again.

I couldn't tell her about Aira. Not yet, anyway. So I simply replied, "I have my ways."

Silk seemed like she didn't like that answer, but she didn't press further, thankfully.

The two of us continued to silently look up at the sky. The moon continued its slow descent towards the horizon.

Then, Silk spoke. "What… what was your nightmare… about?" she asked delicately.

Something in her voice told me that she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

I almost didn't want to tell her. Not out of any sort of anger, no…

I was afraid of telling her that it was about her.

When I didn't say anything, Silk tried again. "Cameron…? What… what was it about?"

I was still conflicted about telling her.

Then, she throws THIS at me:

"I… um, this might be a bad time… but Diana told me something. Something… about your parents."

I paled. "Wh-what?! Wh-when?!"

Silk scooted a half block away from me. "L-last night… while I was… still really mad at you." she answered softly, almost like she expected a response like that.

I hung my head and grabbed my hair in anger. "I thought…! She wasn't supposed to tell that to you…!"

Silk seemed to take offense to that. "What'dya mean, 'I wasn't supposed to be told about that?'" she asked.

"I…" I almost started to argue, before stopping. "She… she told you… my one biggest secret. And I wasn't ready for you to know about it."

Silk processed that. She looked back up at the moon, still on it's path towards the horizon.

"Kinda like how you read my diary."

I glanced back at Silk, surprised. Before I can get a word out, she continues. "Back at the S&S. You read the one thing that I could use to pour my heart into like it didn't even matter. Like I wouldn't care."

Touché.

I sighed. Silk sighed right along with me.

It was an awkward silence for ten seconds.

"Look… Silk, I…" I started.

"No… I don't care. What's done is done. You can't take it back now of all times." Silk interrupted. She didn't sound mad. She just… sounded like she didn't want to talk about it.

So I dropped it.

At that point, I could already tell Silk wasn't exactly in a cheery mood. I had to do something. Ease the tensions between us.

So I came clean.

"My… my nightmare." I started slowly, avoiding Silk's eyes. She looked over at me, a tad curious.

"It… it started out like all my dreams do." I slowly explained. "In a blank, black space, waiting for me to decide what I wish to dream about."

Silk has her entire attention on me. I take a slow breath and continue. "But… when I look around, I suddenly see… this figure. It's a humanoid figure, but it's back is turned. I try to approach it, or call out to it, or anything, but… I'm suddenly frozen in place. I can't move. I can't talk. I can only look."

"The figure… slowly bows it's head, then raises it. That's when I blink, and… it gets closer. Another blink, closer. Another, closer."

"Soon enough, it's almost on top of me. It bows it's head one more time, raises it…"

"And then it turns around. But… the figure… it…" I almost say, but Silk beats me to it.

"It… was me… wasn't it…?" she asked slowly.

I nod. "But… it wasn't… your eyes… they… they weren't nothing but black pits of nothing. And then… the laughter… it was like three of you were laughing at different speeds and pitches…"

"That's when you jumped at me… and bit me right here… on the shoulder." I explained, touching my right shoulder. "And… it felt like venom… was seeping into me. The mark started swelling… and you were just laughing at me, crawling over me…"

"Then I notice more figures on the ground… figures that were once… once… our… our friends… each with a bite mark on the shoulder and… neck…"

Silk's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"S-slowly… each one dissolved into nothing but a bone, dust, an enderpearl, and… slime balls…" I recounted, stammering a small bit.

"It… it ended… with you quickly biting me on the neck… and my vision fading away as I suddenly couldn't breath… but… the last thing I heard… you spoke one last time… you… you said…"

I took a deep breath…

And spoke.

"'Where's Mommy and Daddy now, huh?'" I finished, shaking a little.

Silk was dead quiet. She seemed to be in some form of shock.

When she finally did speak, her voice was a bit hoarser than I remember. "C… Cameron… I… I'm so… I mean…"

I slowly glance at her. I have to do a double take, because she suddenly looks… genuinely surprised. And… she looks like she's shaking.

She can't get another word out the rest of the time we're out there, until I decide I've finally had enough of a cool-down.

"Well… I guess I should head back down." I intoned, standing up and stretching. "It's late, and if I don't head back now, I won't get anywhere near enough sleep to function properly."

I start to head for where I came from. But when I pass Silk, something very peculiar happens…

She grabs my hand and says, "W-wait!"

I turn towards the spider girl, confused. Silk looks down at the ground for a second before looking back up at me. "Ummm… can… I… I'm sorry… for yelling at you." she slowly apologizes, blushing. "Can… can we pretend… it never happened?"

I can't stop the smirk building on my face. I gently, but intentionally, remove her hand from my hand. Instead of heading for the back like I came, though, I stand at the edge of the house next to Silk, and slowly pretend to be thinking about it.

And then I answer.

"Done and done." I respond.

And that's when I lean forward and fall off the roof.

Relax, relax, it was all intentional. I'm not stupid enough to simply leap off this two-story building below without SOME sort of plan.

Aira was already way ahead of me. Instead of hitting the ground hard enough to break something, the landing simply felt like falling off a chair.

As soon as I'm standing, I look back up. Silk is staring down at me with wide eyes and a pale face, her arm reached out as though she was trying to catch me.

"Awww, you do care." I called up softly to her, smirking.

Silk seemed to be a mixture of relieved I'm not hurt, shocked that I'm not hurt, and partly angry at me for that last comment. But I could hardly care at that moment.

"Night, Silk. Pleasant dreams." I called up again, before quickly and quietly entering through the front door and back to bed.

I know, I know, that wasn't very nice of me to trick her like that, especially with something like that, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to see if Silk was really willing to apologize, and would go back to showing concern. That was simply my little test.

'Yeah, I know I'm gonna get an earful tomorrow from her, but it'll be worth it.' I thought, fighting back a fit of laughter as I quickly slip back into bed.

Susie stirred her in sleep, then opens one eye. "*yawn*... C… Cameron…?"

"Oh, sorry Susie." I apologized quietly. "I just needed a little fresh air, I got a little woozy a moment ago."

Susie, too tired to think about it, hummed quietly and closed her eye again, quickly falling right back into sleep.

I chuckled gently. Wrapping my arms around her, I can't help but feel that this time, my dreams are bound to be much more pleasant than last time.

MUCH more pleasant.

* * *

 **So? How 'bout that? First time writing an actual conflict between two characters. It was bound to happen as some point or another, right?**

 **FINALLY! You guys have NO IDEA how glad I am to have this chapter done! I felt really… lackluster lately. I haven't done nearly ANYTHING all summer!**

 **Then again, I have been pretty busy lately, so… yeah.**

 **Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please prepare a warm welcome next month when I get around to finishing the next chapter.**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, please PM me with your in-game username, what server and when. Oh, and big news! I have a server again! Yeah, I finally can afford it again, and it's personally one I really want as many people to join as possible.**

 **Please, if you want to play with me on my survival server, PM me with the same info as above and I'll give you the IP. Love you guys!**

 **Until next time readers, in another chapter…**

 **Stay awesome. =D**


	42. Secrets, Want, and Worry

**HOLY HELL I'M NOT DEAD!**

 **Hello there all you readers, and welcome to another chapter!**

 **Guess I'll just quiet down now. Here's the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 42: Secrets, Wants, and Worry.

The rest of the night passed on dreamlessly.

Honestly, it was almost surreal. After seeing Vivianna and Aira everyday for months now, having not seen them once almost… felt wrong.

Either I didn't go to them partly because they just felt that I wanted a little peace after that nightmare, or maybe I couldn't see them twice in one day. Something told me the former was probably the likely answer.

Anyway, when I woke up, Susie was already gone, and sounds were coming from the kitchen.

I slowly got up out of bed. I felt a lot better today than I had been. Perhaps the comfort of being home once again was finally starting to settle back in.

Once my morning deeds were done, I stepped out. Silk, Andr, and Susie were already out at the counter, Susie preparing plates for everyone, and Andr and Silk making small talk.

However, when Susie and Andr saw me, they quickly became almost tense. It was made even clearer by the way Susie greeted me. "O-oh! Umm… go-good… good morning, Cameron…"

Silk turned around and saw me. For a moment, we didn't say a word.

Then I casually approached the counter and sat down next to Silk. "Morning, everyone." I greeted, rather chipperly.

"Morning." Silk greeted, returning to her plate of food. "You seem happy."

I shrugged. "Peaceful sleep?" I offered, helping myself to a piece of sausage.

Susie and Andr glanced at each other, seemingly confused. "Something wrong?" I asked, fighting back a sly smile.

"Weren't… weren't you two… angry at each other just yesterday?" Andr asked me gently.

"We were. Now we aren't." Silk responded.

"Exactly." I agreed.

Susie and Andr glanced at each other. I almost wanted to tell them about that little talk I had with Silk last night, but I held it back. What they didn't know wouldn't kill them.

"Well… I guess it's good that you made up…?" Andr slowly stated, her tone making sound more like a question.

"You better believe it." I half murmured, rolling my eyes. Silk glanced at me, but said nothing.

The others soon came downstairs, and breakfast quickly followed after, with a somewhat healthy talk carrying throughout the whole meal.

Slowly, the meal wrapped up, and after everyone cleaned up, I stepped outside.

The air was… I dunno, cleaner today than I remembered. I wondered why. Perhaps Notch was at work here? Maybe he just wanted to make today a good day?

Regardless, I sorted through my bag. Susie, just before I stepped out, had asked if I could gather a little more coal for the furnaces. I agreed.

I grabbed my regretfully-damaged iron pick and sized it up, trying to decide if it would be worth the inventory space for a spare.

"I guess I should… maybe I should make another bag…" I softly commented, pulling out my spare crafting table and some iron.

Five minutes later, a sturdy pick was safely stored in my bag, ready if the first one broke. I was just about to pick up the table and head on my way when a voice called out to me from above.

"Hey, Cameron! Wait up, I need to use that!" Diana called from her upstairs window. She ran downstairs and out to the front.

"Thank you, I was running low on arrows…" Diana breathed, quickly attaching feathers to sticks.

"Umm… you do know there's one upstairs in the crafting room, right?" I asked.

"Susie was using it. Said she was making an outfit for Snowy or something." Diana explained.

"Ah. Snowy loves it when Susie makes her new outfits." I remembered.

Diana finished crafting a rather large amount arrows and managed to shove them all into her quiver. "So, what are you doing out here, anyway?" she asked, feeling the sudden weight of her arrows on her back.

"I'm heading out to the mine to get some coal. Furnaces are running low, according to Susie." I explained, picking up the table and shoving it away in my bag.

"Oh, can I come with? I need some ores for a little… ah, project." Diana slowly mumbled, her face growing a little red.

I shrugged. "I don't see why not. Some company might do me good." I agreed.

We began our short walk over to the mine entrance. On the way, I couldn't help but wonder, 'Maybe that's what her little lockbox is for, the one with the ores and stuff? She might be working on a little project… I wonder what though…'

Despite my growing curiosity, I held back. Diana didn't know that I knew about her small stash of material. I didn't want her to think of me as a snooper.

As we reached the entrance, Diana slowly grew… nervous? "Umm… I talked with… um, Silk, earlier…"

That didn't sound good. "Mm? What did you talk about?"

"Well… she told me about your… argument." Diana related hesitantly. "And… why it happened. Did… did you really go to Blockington again?"

I hesitated. Diana wasn't nearly as hot-headed as Silk, but that didn't mean she wouldn't get angry at me for saying the wrong thing. "Y… yeah, we did. I made sure no one ID'd us though, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, no, no. Silk already told me that you had it more-or-less covered." Diana responded quickly. "Just… she told me about… this one girl. Blake, I think. Is… is that why she got mad?"

I sighed. "Partly." I responded. I gave her a short story about what happened in Blockington, and the anger that followed after outside.

"...and then we got home, and we just needed a little time to cool off." I finished.

Diana was quiet for a long time. I thought that our conversation was over, so I focused back on collecting ores for the house. However, just as we reached a split in the path that I knew about…

"She… also told me about your sister."

I froze. "She… she did…?" I asked.

"Umm… is… is that a bad thing…?" Diana asked hesitantly.

I sighed. "No… no, it's not, just… I thought she would've let me tell you." I responded, leveling my pick.

"She… she sounds really nice." Diana offered.

I couldn't hold back a snort. "Yeah. Nice. I dare say she'd be a very different person if we spent more than a day together."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Even so… I wonder if I'll ever get to meet her…"

"Maybe one day." I agreed. "I could take you to the city if you ever wanted, show you around. I know that city somewhat well at this point."

"Wouldn't that be… I dunno, dangerous?" Diana asked nervously.

"We'd take plenty of precautions, no worries. Best case scenario, we simply just give you a normal T-shirt and you'd take off the hat. Easy." I explained, mining a nearby vein of coal.

"Maybe… I'm still a little worried." Diana murmured, nervously tapping her foot on the ground.

"Relax, you'll be fine. Besides, I'll be there with you, remember?" I explained, smiling at her. "Trust me, no one will try to hurt you if I'm-"

At that moment a sound _chunk!_ sound came from right nearby. I whirled around to see an arrow hanging off the stone wall, inches from where I was moments before.

The source was directly behind me, a skeleton wearing full iron armor. My eyes widened. That skeleton was packing more defense than a horde of ten zombies.

"Diana, duck and cover!" I yelled, just as another arrow missed my head by a hair's width.

Diana quickly ducked behind a nearby rock alcove, whereas I ducked into the hole left behind by the coal I just mined. However, the skeleton took one more shot at me, and the arrow collided with a part of my glowing bow on my back.

"Argh! Notch damn it!" I yelled, pulling out the bow. A small but still visible notch had been grooved into a part of it, making that spot more susceptible to breaking. I estimated I just lost five shots because of that weak point.

"Are you okay?!" Diana yelled, firing back her own shots at the advancing skeleton.

"I'm fine. My bow got nicked, though." I called back, prepping an arrow.

I fired true, and the arrow slammed into the skeleton. It still stood, but it was looking much weaker. Diana and I kept firing at it, getting a few more hits, until finally one of us got one final hit, and down the skeleton fell.

"*pant*... you alright over there?" I called out to Diana.

Diana looked quiet.

"Diana?" I asked, approaching her.

"I… I just fired at one of my own kind…" she murmured softly. "Without even thinking about it."

"Diana, listen to me. Sometimes, these things have to happen." I gently urged. "It wouldn't have offered you any quarter. It would've only seen you as an enemy. You understand that, right?"

Diana slowly nodded, but she still seemed a little quieter than normal.

"Anyway, let's see here…" I murmured, sifting through what the skeleton had on it. He dropped a bone, as normal, a pretty worn-out helmet, and it's own bow, which was pretty rare.

"Nothing unusual here…" I murmured. "Anything you see?"

Diana didn't respond. She was too busy looking at my bow. "I… thought you said that the skeleton hit your bow?"

"Well, in the heat of the moment I might have exaggerated a small bit, but-" I started to say, before stopping.

The mark was gone. As if it never existed. And yet I remember a small half-centimeter mark from the where the arrow had hit.

"What the…?" I murmured, inspecting the bow over and over again. No notch whatsoever.

"Did… you fix it?" Diana asked, her head tilted slightly.

"No… I just started firing arrows." I responded. The glow of the bow was still the same. Nothing looked different.

Suddenly, I heard a distant groan of a lone zombie approaching. I suddenly had a thought. "Hang on a minute…"

I quickly took out a rather sharp rock I found moments ago and ran it on the edge of the bow, damaging it slightly. "What are you…?" Diana asked.

"Testing something." I responded, throwing the rock away.

The zombie slowly shambled into the light of the nearby torches, groaning with some unfathomable hunger. And it looked a little battered already, which was perfect. I lined up a carefully placed shot and took the zombie out with one arrow.

"...what are you…?" Diana asked again.

"If I step towards where that zombie was…" I murmured, looking at the groove I created. I took a step forward.

The purple glow grew a tad more intense, and the groove repaired itself before my very eyes. My eyes widened. "Diana, look! I was right!"

Diana looked at the bow, and her eyes widened as well. "Did… did your bow just repair itself?"

"That… that must be what the glow means…" I slowly realized, looking closely at the glow. "This… this is amazing…!"

Diana stared at the bow, now more than ever. I could tell just by looking into her eyes how badly she wanted to own that bow. I mean, who wouldn't? Essentially the thing was unbreakable.

"..." Diana stared, almost hungrily, at the bow.

"Diana…? Do you want this bow?" I asked slowly.

"Wha-?!" Diana snapped, suddenly back from her thoughts. "O-oh, nononono! That's your bow, and I totally respect-"

"It's okay if you really want it Diana. I'm not as good of a shot as you. I'll gladly take a regular bow." I insisted, shoving the bow in her hands.

The look on her face seemed stuck somewhere between shocked, ecstatic, and disbelief. "Y-y-yo… you… you'll really give it… to me…?"

"Of course. You did a lot for me before. I need to return favor to you somehow." I agreed.

Diana shook slightly. She was holding the bow as if it was a priceless treasure. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth between the bow and me.

And suddenly I was tackled to the ground faster than I could physically process. Diana was squeezing me tighter than a piston crusher, repeating over and over, "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

"Eurgh! D-Diana…! Y-you're… crushing me… too tightly…" I managed to gasp out.

Eventually, just before I would've passed out from lack of oxygen, Diana loosened her grasp on me. "Oh, Cameron, thank you so much! I'll never forget this! Never!"

"I don't think my lungs will either…" I coughed, still recovering.

"Here, you take mine." Diana insisted, handing me her old bow. It was rather well crafted, and extremely well-cared for. On the grip of the bow, there was the word 'Diana' etched into the side in neat script.

Diana looked back at her bow one more time. "Umm… you can still… you can still keep this bow, if… if you really want."

"It's okay, Diana. You can keep it. You'll find much more use out of it than I would" I insisted. "You don't have to worry."

I had never seen Diana have such a big smile as I had then. She tackled me into another hug, though this one was much less crushing than her first one.

I instinctively wrapped my arms around her too. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't let go. I know I've said it many times before, but… dear Notch, she's just so _cold_ … I had to do something to help her in any way I could.

Though… there was something very different with this hug. Diana was a little fidgety throughout the whole thing, and… she pulled away much quicker than she had previous times.

I might be a bit dense at times, but even I could tell that Diana was starting to see me in a much different light than before. Diana was starting to like me more.

Personally, I felt… okay around her. Honestly, she's done a lot for me, but… I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about her. I mean, I liked her very much as a friend and all but…

…

And then, there was the other problem with my other friends. Susie, Snowy, Andr… what would they think? I mean, surely they would, at some point, begin thinking that this is getting a little ridiculous, even for them.

But perhaps the biggest zombie in the room… Silk.

She and Diana were closest friends, more than I think I truly know. What would happen if I sudden entered that equation? Would Silk feel left out? Would she grow angry, or maybe upset?

'Eurgh! Get ahold of yourself, Cameron!' I yelled in my mind, shaking my head. 'You're thinking WAAAAY too far ahead. For all you know, Diana just trusts you even more as a friend! Why are you trying to think that she LOVES you?'

'Isn't that a common theme running around at this point?' the emotional part of me asked.

'Still! Not EVERY girl you meet has to like you!' the other, much more logical side fired back. 'I mean, wouldn't you have been perfectly happy with ONE?'

'...would you?'

'Now is not the time to get philosophical on me.'

'I'm just asking, shouldn't you have an answer?'

"Umm… Cameron?" Diana called out to me, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "You're staring blankly…"

I blushed. "Uhh… sorry 'bout that, I was just… thinking."

"About what?" Diana asked innocently.

My mind quickly threw a net for a quick answer, and it settled on the first thing it could find.

"About… that dream you had." I quickly responded, before slamming my mouth closed.

"The… dream…?" Diana slowly asked.

"Uhh… y-yeah… I was curious if you… remembered anything else." I quickly lied.

Diana's eyes grew a little darker. "Oh… that one, you mean. No, I… I haven't remembered or thought about that at all since it happened."

Diana gently plucked the string of her new bow. "All I remember with perfect certainty is those white eyes… they scared me really badly…"

Then Diana looked up at me with sudden suspicion. "Hold on. Why do you suddenly care about that again? That was just a nightmare I had a while ago, you shouldn't be still thinking about it."

Diana had me cornered, and my mind was racing for ANY ideas it could to save itself. "Ummmm… w-well you see, I… uhhhh…"

"Cameron… is there something you're not telling me?" Diana slowly asked, her eyes growing fearful. "Was… was that dream important…?"

"...no…" I slowly stated, trying as hard as I could to maintain eye contact.

Diana kept it up with her own hard stare.

For about ten seconds, we stared at each other. I was trying VERY hard not to break it.

Then she sighed. "Okay. Clearly you don't want to talk about it, so I'll drop it for now. But don't think I'm letting this go, okay? I want the truth sometime, Cameron."

I internally let go of a massive breath I was holding. Ten pounds of weight were suddenly lifted from my shoulders, for now at least. It was all I could do from showing off that relief to Diana.

"C'mon. We'd better head up again before we're missed." Diana called to me, standing up. I followed suit.

The trip back up to the surface was uneventful, save for Diana casting me a few sideways glances. I knew she still was suspicious of me, and I knew I brought that on myself.

'I have to tell her somehow… but how can I just tell her about HIM?' I asked myself. 'And, more importantly… would she tell the others if I told her?'

As we approached home, the idea of telling Diana, or anyone in the house for that matter, about HIM seemed… well, more and more insane.

Time seemed of fast forward once we arrived home. I can't explain why, but I felt that I was just moving very slow compared to the rest of the world.

All of a sudden, Susie was calling out for dinner. I joined the others just as food was being placed on the table. Conversation soon started floating around everyone.

Everyone except me. And the others knew it.

I wasn't participating in any conversation as much as I normally did. I mostly just hung around and ate. If anyone asked me a question, I'd respond as quickly as I could, as though I was eager to finish dinner.

More than once I noticed someone's eyes glance over to me over the course of the meal. Each time felt harder than the last.

Finally, Susie gently touched my arm and whispered, "Cameron… are you alright?"

"Mm?" I whispered back, only half-hearing the question. "Yeah, yeah…"

"Cameron, listen to me." Susie repeated, this time a little more forcefully while still in the whisper. "Are you SURE you're okay?"

"Y-yes, Susie. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired." I responded, a yawn coming at the perfect time to follow my statement.

I can sort of tell Susie didn't completely buy it. She's always been good at sorting my truths and lies. I honestly didn't want to lie to her, but I would only be making her worry even further if I allowed her into my troubles.

At the very least I became a bit more into the conversations. The glances appeared to stop, at least for now, though I could still see that my friends were seeing something a bit off with me.

Once dinner was cleaned up and everyone retreated elsewhere, I slowly wandered around the house in no particular direction. I ended up upstairs, in front of Snowy's room.

I glanced back down, before shaking my head. Perhaps some time alone with Snowy would help clear my head.

I knocked on the door as I opened it. "Snowy? Are you in here?"

Snowy was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked over at me. "Oh, Master. I was just thinking about… things."

I entered the room and closed the door, leaning against it. "Things like what?" I asked.

Snowy sat up, and stared at me. "...mostly about… you."

A pause filled the air. "About… me?" I asked.

"Yes… you seemed a little out of it at dinner today… and I can't help but notice that… something's different about you." Snowy mumbled, gently staring at me.

I grew nervous. "You… you have?"

"Ever since we've gotten home, you've… seemed like you're more on edge. I've never seen you get really angry before, but now you've fought with Silk, and… she told me that you were having nightmares." Snowy explained.

My eyes widened. "S-Silk… told you that I had a nightmare…?"

"Well… she didn't tell me directly… I heard it when Diana asked her about something else, but… I thought you couldn't have nightmares anymore…?"

Several complex emotions were swirling around inside of me. I wasn't even sure what to think. I had so many things to worry about, so little time to think about all of them… it was catching up to me, and I can't handle much more.

I sat down next to Snowy. She gently started squeezing me, whispering nonsense words to me.

A whole five minutes passed, as I slowly took Snowy's comfort. Her breath was soft, and her touch was tender.

"Snowy… I…" I mumbled. "I… I have so much going on, that… you wouldn't be able to understand it."

"You should at least try to tell me." Snowy insisted, staring directly into my eyes. "At the very least, you might feel better if you do."

I hesitated for a moment longer.

"I… there's something going on here, Snowy." I started. "Something… something big."

Slowly, and carefully, I told her about everything since we left the S&S.

Well… almost everything.

I purposely left out that memory of Herobrine. I couldn't help it. Herobrine scared me. I didn't want to make my friends worried about him too.

Everything else I told her. First Diana's dream (minus the fact that I knew what the man was), then Silk's outburst, then my nightmare… all of it. It was as if I suddenly had turned on a faucet, and now everything I had been worrying about was suddenly flowing from me.

"...and then when I went inside, I felt better since Silk and I had more or less made up, but… I'm still worried. I'm afraid something is gonna make everyone worry even more, and… and…"

I took a deep breath. I had unloaded quite a lot on Snowy. I wasn't sure how well she was taking it.

She seemed… neutral, I guess is the best word for it. She didn't seem that shocked, but it also wasn't that she didn't care. She was just… listening to me first. Then she would act. I appreciated that.

"This… this is a lot for me to be looking at, Snowy. I haven't even dared to tell Susie yet. She's only now got me back. I don't need to worry her anymore than now." I slowly finished, rubbing my forehead.

Snowy was quiet for all of ten seconds. I think she somehow knew I wasn't telling the full truth, but I had already unloaded on more than enough today.

Then, she says, "You have to tell Mistress, Master. She'll want to know this."

"We JUST got back, Snowy. I don't need to make her worry about these things." I told her. "I… I don't want her to worry any more than she has."

"But she's still worried about you. Even she knows that something's not right with you. I think she thinks that something about the S&S changed you. And that you'll never go back." Snowy insisted.

I digested this. "Like… I grew tougher in a part that shouldn't have, and she doesn't know if I can change it back?"

"More or less." Snowy agreed, clinging to my arm. "If you don't want me to, I won't say anything to anyone else about this. But you know that you will have to tell Mistress at some point. Please make sure that you won't keep this inside of you forever, okay? Please?"

I sighed. "I… I'll try. Thank you… Snowy." I thanked, gently wrapping my arms around her. She sank into my arms, clinging softly to my warmth.

I gently pet her head in our embrace, causing gently humming sounds to escape her every time I brushed past an ear.

I slowly pulled away, and stood up. "I guess I'll leave you to it, then. I should go see how the others are doing."

"Okay… but, um… is it okay, if…" Snowy slowly murmured, blushing slightly. "If I sleep with you tonight?"

I couldn't hold back my smile. "Always." I agreed, before heading out.

I slowly wandered down the narrow hallway, listening for sounds of movement. I could vaguely hear Diana and Silk talking in their guest room. Though I didn't snoop, Diana seemed to be talking about the bow I gave her.

I gave a quick knock. Diana called out, "Yes?"

"It's me. You guys doing okay in here?" I asked through the door.

"We're fine, but… can you come in here for a sec?" Silk called out.

Unsure of what they needed, I opened the door and stepped in. Just as I thought, Diana had her new bow in her hands while carefully cleaning it, and Silk was on her bed watching.

"You… you GAVE Diana that? Do you know how rare those things are?" Silk asked, her eyes wide.

"She wanted it far more than I did." I answered simply, leaning against the wall.

Diana looked at me happily. "I told him that he could take it back if he wanted, but he insisted I keep it."

Silk simply shook her head. "Geez… you're far too kind for your own good sometimes."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, the corners of my mouth curling upward a small bit.

Silk gave no comment. Diana flashed me a sappy smile.

"Well, it's getting late. Guess I should leave you guys to your business. G'night." I finished, opening the door.

"Erm… Cameron?" Diana called out to me.

I turned just as she got over to me. No sooner had I realized that she was right next to me did she clamp her arms around me.

"Good night, Cameron. Thank you so much." she whispered, squeezing me gently.

I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her as well, whispering, "N-no problem."

Diana soon let me go, a warm smile on her face. Silk stared at the two of us, and… I think she was seeing something for the first time.

"Well… I better get going." I mumbled, opening the door and heading out. But just as I was about to shut the door…

Silk followed after. "We need to talk."

THAT didn't sound good. "About… what?" I asked.

"Just follow me." Silk ordered, quickly opening the door to the crafting room and motioning for me to follow. With little other choice, I heeded her request and entered the room.

The room wasn't anything major. Besides the wall of furnaces towards the back, and a few furnaces around just in case, a few tables, crafting and regular, littered the area. It smelled faintly of wood shavings and iron in here.

The moment Silk closed the door behind me, she gave me a hard stare. "What are you playing at, boy?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't think I haven't seen something going on between you and Diana. I'm tolerant of a lot of things, but messing with my friend is something I don't like at all. What are you planning?" Silk demanded, her stare cold.

I carefully worded my answer. "Look, I'm not trying anything. All I'm trying to do, if anything, is be a friend. That's all. Anything else is purely a coincidence."

"That still doesn't explain why Diana's been talking of almost nothing else but you for the past few days." Silk continued.

"That's her own business."

"I still think you have something to do with it."

"So? What does it matter to you?"

"It MATTERS because that person is my friend."

"Look, I don't know Diana all that well, but she just seems to like me as a friend, okay?"

"And I do too." Silk insisted. "But still, it's one thing to befriend us. It's another thing to come between us. I mean, how would YOU feel if Susie and I started getting chummy and she spent most of her time talking about me?"

I thought about that. "I… would feel as though I'm not trying hard enough to be a good friend to her…" I answered quite honestly.

"Exactly. So… please, promise me. Promise me that you aren't going to try to come between us. Don't make our lives any harder than they already are, okay?" Silk asked, clamping her hands on my shoulders.

I gave her a firm nod. "I promise."

Silk took a sigh of relief. "Thank Notch…"

I slowly got out of Silk's grip and headed for the door. But just as I left and Silk was about to enter her room, I couldn't help myself but say, "Hey, Silk?"

She turned. I flashed her a sly smile. "You get cute when you're worried about your friends. Thought you'd like to know."

And before she could think of a response to that, I was already going down the stairs.

'So that's Snowy and our guests…' I counted off in my head. 'Guess that leaves Andr. Knowing her, she'll be trying get one last page done on her book before going to bed…'

Sure enough, Andr was downstairs, sitting in the green armchair, her nose buried in a book. It only just occurred to me how much that woman likes books, but she's coming close to reading our entire collection. If she keeps reading at the pace she has been, she'll have to start doing what I do and reread everything again.

Anyway, I approached her just as she let out a yawn. "Tired?" I asked.

She glanced over. "Yeah… guess I should be getting to bed soon…" she murmured, stretching gently.

"You need me to get you anything? A small snack, or a glass of-" I almost let it slip, but I stopped myself at the last second.

I had learned the hard way to NEVER EVER EVER ask Andr if she wanted a glass of water. Whenever that happened, she became deathly pale and seemed close to hyperventilating. One of those Endermen quirks.

Andr knew exactly what I almost asked, though this time she seemed a lot better off. "No, thank you though… I'll get it myself."

She stood up and carefully marked her page, then set the book down on the counter and, very carefully, took a glass from the cabinet.

Suddenly, I realized something. "Hold on a minute. You've been living here in this house for so long, yet I just noticed something. You always go a little off when we accidentally ask you for water, yet I've seen you with glasses of water all the time."

Andr blushed. "O-oh… right… I, um… never told you…"

Andr gently looked at me. "Well… I… I haven't been exactly… drinking water."

My eyebrow went north. "Huh?"

"You know those purple particles that float off me all the time?" Andr asked. As if I couldn't. The more nervous she got, the more those things flew off of her. Probably an old instinct to teleport away.

"Well… here, pour me a glass…" she whispered, pushing the glass into my hands. Curious, I filled the glass with cold water.

"So… if I focus hard enough…" Andr continued, once I put the glass on the counter next to her, her eyes closing.

Some of the purple particles flying off of her floated towards the water. The moment the stuff touched it, the water… I dunno, it just seemed to become a little… less clear, or something.

"It becomes Ender Water." Andr explained, taking the glass. "Meaning it's safe for us to drink."

To prove it, she took a small sip, though her face scrunched up a little bit. "The… taste is a little acquired… but it's safe, and that's what matters."

I blinked. "But… haven't you ever tried to… I don't know, at least _test_ to see if you can stand water. I mean… you're half human.

Andr's face quickly paled. "N-nonononono! I-I don't want to risk that!"

Andr quickly tried to look away, but I gently forced her to look at me. "Andr, c'mon. There's a safe way to test it, after all."

"Th-there… is…?" she whispered, her face almost milk white.

"Yeah. Just a tiny droplet of water. We'll hover your hand under the faucet and turn it on just barely. The moment you feel something bad happen, we shut the water off and treat you." I explained, amazed that I could come up with such a brilliant plan on the spot.

 **(Yeah, I know, really original, but before you yell at me, I'd like to say that I personally messaged the original creator of this idea, SylentDoom. And I can say that I have their express permission to use this idea. So please don't hate me. Pls.)**

Andr shook, but I could tell that my idea was making some laps in her head. "B-But… if the… water burns me…"

"It'll only be a tiny droplet, and I'll be ready to pull you away should something bad. Okay?" I asked.

Andr paled even harder, but I could tell that she wanted to listen to me. Even as her mind and body more or less COMMANDED her to be afraid of water, deep down she was just as curious if she could withstand water.

Slowly, very slowly, she allowed me to gently guide her towards the faucet. She started shaking very badly, but never made any attempt to teleport away.

Slowly, I twisted the knob on the faucet until it _juuuust_ barely let a tiny droplet of water start coming out.

Very, very gently, I grabbed Andr's hand and gently guided it directly under the faucet. Andr's eyes were clamped closed as the droplets slowly started to fall…

 _*Plink!*_

The cold water gently ran over Andr's hand. Her entire being was tense…

 _*Plink!*_

Another droplet joined the second. Nothing happened.

 _*Plink!*_

A third. Absolutely nothing.

Andr slowly opened her eyes as she realized that the water wasn't doing anything to her. It was an odd sensation to her, it seemed. She never knew what water actually felt like.

As more droplets hit her hand, she let out a very large breath she didn't know she was holding. Relief was plastered all over her face. I could tell she felt… safe.

She stared at me, smiling bigger than I had ever seen before. "Cameron, I… thank you… for believing in me…"

I released her hand and turned off the faucet. "No problem."

I glanced over towards the rest of Andr's glass of Ender Water and took it. "Besides, this stuff couldn't have been that good."

Curious, looked down at the water. Something was different about it, but it still looked pretty much like regular water. Nothing more.

Andr was still looking at her hand and the small water trails left behind by the faucet. "I… I wanna know what real water tastes like now. Cameron, can you-"

She saw me hesitantly raise the glass to my face. I just wanted to see what the stuff tasted like, that's all.

Andr's face became pale. "Wait, no!"

Too late. A small sip of the water already passed my lips.

I instantly retched at the taste. I very nearly dropped the glass from sheer disgust. As it were, I was almost appalled that Andr once had to drink something so foul.

Andr quickly grabbed the glass from me and quickly dumped it out, staring at me very upset. "You shouldn't have drank that! You're gonna get sick…"

She was right. My vision seemed distorted for a far while, and I'm pretty sure my face was turning green. "Eurggh… that… stuff… was… horrid…" I managed to get out.

"I-it'll pass in a moment…" Andr responded, gently collecting me a glass of regular water. "Here, drink this…"

I very hesitantly took a small sip of the clean water. My body started feeling better already. I slowly drank the whole glass, as the nauseous feeling slowly left me.

"Guh…" I gasped once the glass was empty. "What… what was IN that stuff?"

"You should've known better than to drink something Ender people drink." Andr scolded, her hands at her hips. "If you drank too much of that stuff you would've been sick for a week."

"Noted…" I replied, quickly making another glass.

A second glass of water and I felt much better, though the taste still lingered slightly. "How on earth were you able to drink that?"

"Endermen can't get nauseous, so we have a natural resistance to it." Andr explained, gently holding my shoulders.

"I'm surprised that your kind haven't tried to change all the water in the world to that stuff then…" I mused.

"They tried." Andr agreed. "But the effect isn't applicable for really large bodies of water. It would take nearly the entire population of an Endermen town working together just to transform a small lake into Ender Water. And an ocean? Forget it. Even the entire Endermen population of the world working together wouldn't be able to do it, nor would they be interested in doing so."

A small silence followed, and I suddenly became very acutely aware to how firmly Andr was holding my shoulders, and how intently she gazed into my eyes. Andr suddenly seemed to notice these details at about the same time.

Blushing slightly, she dropped her hands to her sides and shyly looked away. "Umm… Cameron, I…" she murmured, trying to think of something to say.

I tilted my head at her as she continued to stammer, "I… you…"

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she hugged me tightly.

"Thank you, Cameron… I… I feel so relieved…" Andr sighed, her hug tight, yet comfortable.

I embraced her back gently, my head resting against her shoulder. "You're welcome Andr. And please don't hesitate to tell me about anything you need to tell me about, okay?"

Andr hummed in agreement, her hands gently rubbing my back.

We pulled away slightly, just enough to gaze into each other's eyes, and in another moment we kissed.

It was short, but sweet. Andr seemed like she wanted to give me one last thank you, at least for today.

A few moments passed before we parted from each other.

"Good night… Cameron…" Andr gently whispered, releasing me.

I gently nodded, parting from her. She quietly started heading for the stairs, a small smile visible on her face.

Once Andr was upstairs, I sighed. That was everyone.

I headed for the bedroom. Susie was there, quietly reading a book while laying on her stomach. She glanced up as I came in.

"You took a while." she commented.

"Had to say good night to everyone. Silk also wanted to talk to me." I responded, leaning against the wall.

Susie hummed a little, then closed her book and sat up. She looked at me expectantly, her hands gently patting the bed in front of her.

I took the hint, sitting down in front of her. The moment I did so, Susie quickly wrapped her arms around me, tightly forming an embrace between us.

She gently sighed in my arms, and… was she gently shaking?

I pulled back a little. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. "You're shaking a little…"

Susie pursed her lips. "Ummm… well…"

Then she looked into my eyes. "I… I had a nightmare last night… and I started thinking about it again…"

"What happened?" I asked.

"You… you…" Susie whispered, unable to bring herself to say anything more.

I squeezed her arms a little. That seemed to help. She took a deep breath…

And said, "You… you hurt me."

The room seemed a little colder.

"Y-you… you said that you were lying… when you said you loved me… and you… y-you pulled out your sword and started smiling…" Susie recounted, shaking harder.

I stayed quiet. "I… I… did…?"

Susie nodded, close to tearing up. "I-i-it still… scares me…" she whispered.

"Do you need some space…?" I asked seriously. "If you want me to leave for the night, I can-"

"N-no! Don't go!" Susie wailed, quickly tackling me down to my back.

Suddenly, Susie was on top of me, staring desperately into my eyes. "D-don't go… I'm more scared of being alone…"

Slowly, Susie calmed down a little. She gently touched my hand. "C-Cameron… feel my heart…"

Slowly, she guided my hand to just barely above her chest.

 _*bump-bump* *bump-bump*_

Susie's heart was beating much harder than it normally did. I could feel it very clearly. No wonder Susie was shaking so badly.

"You being here… it feels better already…" Susie whispered, staring deeply into my eyes. "But… I'm still so nervous…"

For a moment, neither of us said anything more. I continued to feel Susie's rather intense heartbeat for a good while.

"Cameron… please… calm me down…" Susie pleaded.

"...how…?" I asked honestly.

Then, faster than I would've thought possible, suddenly Susie took off her dress right there and stared into my eyes. "Hold me tonight. Comfort me all you can. I beg of you."

My eyes widened as Susie's face blushed. "Please… I… I want to feel your warmth. Please… be with me tonight…"

The soft moonlight through the window lit up her face amazingly. She looked so… beautiful, even if she was afraid.

I gently raised my hands up to her face, covering her cheeks. She blushed harder, but didn't say anything as I gently pulled her downwards.

We kissed deeply. Susie moaned every second that we kissed. She tried desperately to hold me even tighter than she had before, trying to put our bodies as close together as they could possibly be.

We parted after a long, long time. Susie was blushing incredibly hard. "Cameron… thank you… you don't know how much better I feel…"

"You know… if you wanted, we could… you know…" I suggested, gazing suggestively at her. For once… I felt like I wanted to make her feel incredible.

Susie, however, shook her head. "N-no… not tonight… I'm just not feeling it right now…" she whispered, sadly gazing at me.

I smiled at her nevertheless. "Right. That's fine. But… I could make you feel safer still…"

Susie tilted her head, confused. I gently guided her under the covers, and then I slowly removed my shirt and pants, leaving me just like her: in our undergarments.

I hugged her again. Once again, her body's incredible softness touched my body, and it felt incredible. Better than anything else.

Susie quietly moaned the moment our bodies touched, which was quickly made slightly stronger when I kissed her squarely on the lips.

Her body was intoxicating, and I was enjoying every second of it.

I don't think we've ever held each other that tightly in a LONG time. We simply just could not pull away from one another. It was bliss…

And then the knock on the door.

At first, I was EXTREMELY miffed that I was getting interrupted from cuddling with Susie.

Then I heard the voice.

"Master…? Are you in here?" Snowy asked through the door.

I glanced over at Susie. "*sigh*... sorry, Susie…" I muttered.

Susie just hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. "I don't mind… Snowy's always good company. Besides… I feel much better now…"

We quickly got into sleep clothes before I opened the door and Snowy entered.

"Evening, Mistress." Snowy greeted, gently waving at Susie.

Susie simply smiled back at Snowy.

Eventually we all got back into bed.

Of course, with me in the middle. I didn't mind.

Snowy was on my left. Susie on my right.

Snowy's arms were wrapped around my torso, while Susie's were around my shoulders and neck.

It didn't take long for the two of them to look content like that, smiling while they tried to sleep.

It made me smile, just seeing them like that. I found myself wondering how I could ever keep secrets from them.

I sighed. 'One day.' I thought forcefully. 'One day within the next year, I'll tell Susie everything. If I don't, then may Notch strike me down where I stand.'

I rubbed each of my friends' heads, before gently closing my eyes.

I was out before I could count to five.

But my promise was still ringing in my ears.

I wouldn't forget that promise.

Never.

Never.

Never.

Never.

NEVER.

…

And sleep quickly embraced me.

* * *

 **FINALLY! OH MY GOD!**

 **You guys don't even KNOW how badly I wanted this chapter to get out! I've been stuck on it for weeks now! I had to rewrite it at least five times to get what you see here.**

 **But now, I feel motivated. You guys wait.**

 **I actually think I have a solid plan I like for the next chapter.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed this one, and look forward to the next one coming soon*ish*[possibly](probably not, we know me).**

 **As always, if you guys want to play MC with me, send me a PM with all the stuff I've said twenty times before. And don't forget about my survival server.**

 **Until next time guys…**

 **Stay awesome. =D**


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